


Passing the Torch

by ekrolo2



Category: Action!, Dragon Ball, j - Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anime/Manga Fusion, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-04-28 04:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 51,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5077444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekrolo2/pseuds/ekrolo2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Z-fighters meet their demise at the hands of Androids 17 and 18, they're given a second chance to save their world. With the aid of Goku and King Kai, they will train under the greatest warriors in the afterlife, attaining new levels of power to defeat the Android threat and those beyond it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any grammatical and spelling mistakes, English is not my primary language. I'll try to squash as many of them as possible pre-release. I also apologize for my followers expecting a sequel for Gods Wrath, but I don't feel comfortable tackling such a project just yet. A more character-focused side project like this I feel will help me greatly in preparation for that.

****Chapter 1: The First to Die** **

**May 12th, Age 767, Amenbo Island**

In most instances, Piccolo has never viewed his sharper hearing as an asset. More often than not, he's yearned to rid himself of it, annoyed the noises piercing into his skull whenever he trades blows or blasts with another opponent. A cumbrance he's usually overcome by allowing the heat of battle to sweep him up with his  _ki_  sense to compensate. Now, he can't afford to apply this method as much as every fiber of his being wants him to.

Shock waves, explosions, beams whizzing and the worst of all, shrieks of terror and death from all over the besieged city ring in his ears. Creating a morbid, and most unwelcome mental image of his surroundings. If not for this ability being the only thing presently keeping him just barely alive, he'd have rendered himself temporarily deaf already.

For now he faces an adversary his Ki Sense can't help him against, an enemy with not even the faintest ounce of a  _ki_  signature. Not even a minuscule one common to the human species. Instead, this regular looking boy, no more than a few years older than his apprentice Gohan stands before him like an unstoppable and unreadable force. This teenage boy with nary the hint of combat training or a physique above his human peers stares him down with a cold, and ruthless confidence. Not even bothering to blink or drop the smirk ever present on his face, his expression eerily reminds Piccolo of the galactic tyrant, Freeza.

"Well, this is disappointing," He comments, placing his hands on into the pockets of his jeans. "From what the good Doctor said about you being as strong as Goku, I thought you'd put up a lot better fight than this."

Piccolo narrows his eyes. "The Doctor? I'm guessing this is the guy responsible for turning you two into whatever you are now?"

17 nods. "Into Androids yes. Our creator, Doctor Gero, formerly the head scientist of the Red Ribbon Army is the guy you can thank for all of this and so much more." He arms extended toward the burning city all around them. "Although, your friend Goku certainly did his part too."

"Goku...?"

"Mhm, I'm not sure what exactly but he did something pretty bad to the old man. Bad enough for him to spend 15 years to get revenge, building all sorts of nasty things like us to do it too. Unfortunately for him," His smirk turns into a full blown smile. "He lost his head before he could see the fruit of his labor."

"If this Doctor Gero is dead, and Goku's not here anymore for you to target, then why are you two doing all of this?"

"What can I say," 17 cracks his knuckles. "We've always been a couple of little troublemakers."

Vanishing out of sight, Piccolo freezes in place before ducking beneath the kick, his hearing allowing him to hear the wind splitting in half near his head mere seconds before the attack came. Taking hold of the boys leg, Piccolo roars and promptly launches him through a nearby, evacuated building. Before he can even fly an inch off the ground, a quick sideways jab to his face sends the Namekian hurtling through the air.

Recovering quickly enough to suffer only a scratch to his cheek courtesy of the Android's narrowly avoided punch, Piccolo launches a flurry of blows his way. Despite putting in every bit of strength into every punch and kick, Piccolo knows it's a fruitless exercise. His recent experiences against the Saiyan's and the Freeza giving him a good idea of what it means to be on the receiving end of an overwhelming adversary. Even one he can't sense. But he doesn't have to, his casually blocked and intercepted attacks being all the proof he needs.

Despite this, he knows he can't quit. Against an enemy like this, only he and the other warriors of Earth, even Vegeta of all people, stand as the planets only line of defense. And he's not about to allow a repeat of his people's genocide to happen to the Earthlings, not when he can do something to stop it.

"Tell me you've got something better than this," 17 comments with a bored tone. "I'm getting sleepy here."

"Hmph,"

A white radiate of  _ki_  surrounds his body as he powers up, propelling himself several feet into the air and high above his opponent. Forming two balls of  _ki_ , accompanied by large discharges of electricity from both, Piccolo fires off a series of energy balls with a mighty shout. He knows full well a volley of blasts of this caliber will be little more than split second annoyances for him. Exactly what he needs, for he used a shred of his power even making them while the vast majority instead has gone to his charging Makankosappo. Things quickly take a turn for the worse when 17 smacks the blasts away in the directions of several fleeing or wounded people in the nearby area instead of dispelling them as Piccolo counted on.

_Damn it._

Breaking his focus on accumulating as much energy as he can into one all out blast, Piccolo quickly moves to intercept his off target blasts with new ones fired from each palm. He only narrowly manages to get them all, though his brief moment of relief is cut short with 17 smashing his fist into Piccolo's stomach. The Namekian's whole body freezes in place as a pained gasp escapes his lips.

Unable to strike back or protect himself, Piccolo finds himself flying upward from a jaw breaking uppercut. Treating the Namekian as little more than the object of a pinball game, 17 relentlessly smashes his bested opponent around in all directions, intercepting him before he can fly off with another punch or kick. Piccolo already guessed from the pain of the stomach blow that he's finished, with this exercise in torture merely serving to wilt away what little hope he has remaining of possibly winning.

Eventually, 17 stops, letting Piccolo fall face first into the ruined streets of the city and descends behind him with a disappointed sigh. "Y'know, my sister and I saw your stunt on TV all those years ago. How you outlawed all the rules and told everyone to do whatever they wanted as long is it was for the sake of stirring up trouble."

Piccolo lets out a grunt of pain and anger, his thoughts returning to his previous incarnations declaration on the day of his death and inception. Not with the same pride or disdain as he did in his younger days.

"We thought you were the coolest guy ever. A real role model for a couple of impressionable youngsters like us. But here you are now," He comments with disgust plastered all across his face and in every spoken word. "Now you're just another goodie two shoes like the rest of Goku's loser friends. Honestly, what happened to you?"

 _Gohan..._ The boys smiling face emerges in his mind along with a sense of relief at his decision to knock him out, preventing him from partaking in the battle. A decision growing all the wiser as he can sense Vegeta, now a Super Saiyan and above both Goku and Freeza, falter against the other Android on the opposite end of the city.

Hearing the Android's approach from his footsteps, Piccolo knows he can't simply stay down and let the Android kill him. For the sake of the Earth and especially for Gohan, he pushes through the horrible pain, rolls onto his back and manages to hit 17 directly in the face with a quick  _ki_  blast. Using a pair of smaller blasts aimed at the ground, Piccolo propels himself back to his feet and lunges at 17 with a mighty roar.

Just as Piccolo's claws near his face, 18 vanishes out of sight with a smirk, leaving the Super Namek bewildered for a moment. Hearing her feet tap the concrete behind him, The Namekian quickly spins around to continue his assault only to find himself frozen from pain once again. A crippling kick to his chest knocks out the last shred of strength he has left.

For a moment, the entire world seems to slow down around him, a sensation he's only ever felt twice before. Once after Goku's powerful headbutt and more prominently, when he put himself in front of Nappa's energy blast. Just as he did last time, he feels his body go limp as 17 slowly pulls his leg back, staring at the alien as he plummets down to his knees. Just as last time, his thoughts return to his time training Gohan and lets himself smile at the boys statement about him being more grumpy than bad.

_Sorry, I let you down, kid..._

With that final thought crossing his mind, his body smashes against the ruined concrete at the feet of Android 17. The first of the Earth's warriors fated to die today at the hands of the Androids. Looking down at his corpse with a disappointed expression, the cybernetically enhanced boy turns to hunt down humans likely still scattered around the city. Sealing their fates as well.

* * *

**5 Months Prior, Yunzabit Heights**

"I'm glad you agreed to stay with Piccolo," Admits Kami as he hands a cup containing ice water from the northern area where Kami and Piccolo grew up during their time as the joined being known as the Nameless Namek to his counterpart. Considered a desolate wasteland with nary a sign of life or sunlight in the eyes of many, it remains as one of the few places both Kami and even Piccolo's previous incarnation held dearly. The self-proclaimed Demon King even spared the area of his infamous conquest many centuries ago.

"I was certain you'd simply fly away and ignore my request."

Piccolo takes the cup with some understandable apprehension, for he never expected to stand in the same room with his counterpart without any hostility, much less share a drink with him. "Ordinarily I would have," He takes a sip from the cup. "But I can sense you've got something important to say, so out with it."

"Very well then," The old Namekian's smile falters following a sigh, replaced by a stern and serious expression. "The time for another Guardian of Earth is fast approaching."

Nearly choking while taking another sip upon hearing this statement, Piccolo's cough gets an amused chuckle out of Kami. Not for the first time since seeing him there, Piccolo eyes the old Guardian with suspicion. Just before the arrival of Raditz six years ago, both he and Kami sensed that their time amongst the living was nearing its end. An ominous premonition which turned out to be true. However, Piccolo senses nothing amiss with himself or Kami.

"You seem fine physically at least, so you're not dying."

Kami shakes his head with a chuckle. "Oh no! I'm feeling quite well I assure you! In fact, I don't intend to retire for at least a few more years. Still, in light of recent events I thought it prudent to plan ahead for the future."

Though he doesn't say it, Piccolo is smart enough to realize what he means: the unexpected death of Goku at the hands of that new virus plaguing the human populace. Even in his wildest dreams while growing up in the wilderness during his darker days, Piccolo never suspected or wanted him to face such an end. A warrior of that caliber, full of life dying in his bed in agonizing pain instead of in combat as befitting of him.

Despite his best attempts to keep his emotions and thoughts hidden from Kami, Piccolo's defenses falter for a moment as he finds himself missing the Saiyan. Something which doesn't go unnoticed.

"Its funny you know," Kami states while staring into the water of his cup, his mind wandering back to the days Goku spent in his company. "You two spent years training to defeat one another, and in the end you two became comrades willing to save one another. You've even become a second father to his son."

"No one's more surprised by that than me," Admits Piccolo, letting himself relax somewhat for the first time since the arrival of Kami. "When I trained Gohan, I didn't intend to grow fond of him. Just having something of myself left after I died was more than enough, even if it was in Goku's son of all people." He forms a genuine smile. "But the boy got under my skin."

"How are they doing? Gohan and Chi-Chi I mean."

"They're doing better," He takes another sip from the cup. "They took it about as well as you'd expect at first. But once Goku contacted them from the afterlife, the blow was lessened somewhat. I've been traveling there often these days. Training with Gohan and helping around their home a little, they need it with another kid on the way."

"Chi-Chi must be thrilled having you around." Muses Kami with an amused tone to his voice, his implication not lost on his formerly evil counterpart.

"I sense some hostility, but the fact of the matter is that Gohan likes having me around. Seeing him happy with anyone, even with me must be good enough for her."

Kami chuckles once more. "You can't exactly blame her, the first time she met you nearly killed her fiance after all."

"Hmph," Scoffs Piccolo with an amused smile. "Some fiance, he didn't even remember what she looked like."

"Oh it gets even better, at first he thought marriage was a kind of food!"

Letting the tension between them wash away, the two share a loud and genuine laugh together, the first of many stories Kami shares with Piccolo of Goku's many antics during his time on the Lookout. Beginning what will become a trend of meeting up for the two in the coming months of peace


	2. A Legend Outclassed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You probably noticed the change in title and description. I wasn't particularly pleased with either and I felt the title, in particular, would work better to with the theme of the later Otherworld section of the story. The description change was due to the original being contradictory with having people enjoy peace with Goku dead. With that out of the way, feel free to comment or review whether it's positively or negatively or just a question.

**May 12th, Age 767, Amenbo Island**

To any far away from the catastrophe unfolding on Amenbo Island, the quivering of the ground may appear as a precursor to a massive earthquake in the making. Possibly the worst in recent memory. To those unfortunate enough still be on the besieged island, the shaking is second to the dozens of shockwaves rippling through the air. Inadvertently smashing chunks of buildings and glass in their wake, raining both down on the fleeing populace.

The truth, for the handful aware of it, would be viewed as quite a bit stranger in the eyes of the ordinary humans. That the cause of all this isn't some natural disaster, but the aftermath of punches and kicks. Exchanged blows courtesy of two beings with the power to do far, far worse if they wanted to. One looking no different than any other young woman her age while the other is the prince of an almost extinct species.

Clad in a customized version of the Saiyan armor courtesy of Bulma and Capsule Corp and shining brightly with the power of the legendary Super Saiyan coursing through him, Vegeta battle Android 18 with a sense of excitement he hasn't felt in six months. Not since his opportunity to defeat Goku and reclaim his honor slipped through his fingers. Snatched away forever by an enemy not even greatest fighters can resist: a disease. Leaving him without purpose and bringing him back to the headquarters of Capsule Corp, giving him something of a home.

But now all of that feels like a distant memory from a lifetime ago.

After blocking the latest in a series of punches, Vegeta spins out of the way of her kick and retaliates a backhanded strike to the side of her face, sending her plummeting towards the ground. She recovers just ahead of smashing into the street and turns around to continue the battle only to find a massive, golden wave of  _ki_  coming at her.

Knowing she can't disperse wave of that size, she instead prepares to push it back when she notices something in the corner of her eye. A golden streak of energy darting around the incoming attack, a trail left behind from Vegeta's flaring aura. With one hand pointed at the incoming wave with the other aimed at Vegeta, she tries to gun down the Saiyan Prince to no avail.

Dispelling the  _ki_ blasts with quick karate chops, Vegeta smirks as he gets behind 18 and with all his mighty, propels himself forward while ramming his elbow into her back. At last, the wave he launched mere moments ago reaches the Android, hitting her face first, pushing her down while Vegeta pushes upward.

Not content to simply ram her through his blast, Vegeta decides to add a little twist to his plan and fires off a closer range energy wave nearly twice the power of his previous one. In a blinding ray of light, the Android and the blast attacking her from the front are completely engulfed with anything caught in its range wiped out of existence, leaving nothing but a massive cloud of smoke behind.

With a quick swipe of his hand, Vegeta creates a wind gust strong enough to disperse the smoke cloud and finds 18 hovering back up in the air, staring down at him with only minor burns on her body and clothing. Most would be shocked or at least somewhat worried about their blast not having much of an effect. Not Vegeta, however, as he has no desire to see this fight end so quickly or so easily.

"I see I'm not the only one enjoying myself," 18 comments on the smirk planted firmly on the Saiyan Princes face just as positions himself several yards opposite of her. "The data mentioned your fondness for combat."

"A trait shared by all true Saiyan warriors, even by fools like Kakarot."

She rubs her chin thoughtfully as she recounts the data stored inside her modified brain. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't that fool leave you in the dust until you turned into that monkey thing you aliens got?"

Her comment hits closer to home, closer than Vegeta would want to admit, either to himself or anyone else. Still, it's nowhere near enough to kill his enthusiasm. "Even a fool can get lucky, but it doesn't last. If it did, he wouldn't have died from some common Earthling cold."

"Was that before or after you beat him?" She smiles upon noticing Vegeta's fists tighten. "I know I'd be pretty mad if the guy who screwed with me died before I could get some payback."

Vegeta merely lets out a chuckle, no wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing him riled up. "I'd choose my words more carefully if I were you, speaking to a superior warrior like that tends to end badly. Especially if you can't back it up."

"That's some good advice," She admits with the same mocking tone to her voice. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind when a superior fighter shows up."

"He's standing right in front of you," Vegeta's smirk turns into a full blown, confident smile. "He's just been holding back!"

His humming, golden aura explodes as the Prince of all Saiyan's unleashes a mighty roar with his increasing power. His entire body tenses up from it with his muscles bulging and veins popping out all over his body. The quivering of the ground from before is a minor tremble in comparison to the shaking caused by Vegeta's powering up.

Letting out a confident laugh as a vortex of wind spirals around him, Vegeta gives 18 one last warning. "Don't die too quickly, I'd hate to use my full strength for nothing."

"Of course," She bows without lowering her head to him, "Your majesty."

Blasting off towards the Android, Vegeta attempts a flying back kick only for 18 to casually tilt her head to the right, causing him to miss entirely. Quickly re-positioning himself, the Saiyan warrior fires a minor Big Bang Attack with his attack failing to connect again due to 18 vanishing out of sight. An instant later, Vegeta is sent flying back courtesy from a headbutt, leaving a bleeding smear over his right eye.

Before the growling Prince can even retaliate, a blindingly fast uppercut sends a horrid rush of pain coursing through his skull. The first of many injuries to come. A spinning roundhouse kick to his chest piece is the next, one powerful enough to leave a fist sized dent on it and knock the air from his lungs.

Tumbling onto the cracked skyscraper top, Vegeta narrowly avoids a stomp directed at his head and quickly leaps back into action as he cannot afford to stay down and leave himself vulnerable. He lashes out with a punch aimed at her face only for the Android to casually catch it midway. Applying only a minimal amount of effort on her part, she pushes the limb forward, forcing Vegeta to his knees or risk fighting with a broken arm.

"Let's see who did it better," Is all Android 18 tells the kneeling Prince before kicking him up into the air before unleashing a  _ki_  wave of her own roughly three stories in size at the Saiyan warrior. An instant later, she takes off into the air, darting past both her attack and the spinning Vegeta in mere seconds, reaching the Earth's stratosphere in speeds thought impossible but humanity or the Z-fighters.

Using the built up momentum to her advantage, 18 smirks upon speeding up even further downward and rams her shoulder right into the Princes back plate. Before he can even hear the cracking of his armor, Vegeta is assaulted by the scorching heat of 18s energy wave burning away at him from head to toe. The pain only grows worse as burns appear all over his body and clothing, burning away whole chunks of his jumpsuit and armor plate.

He receives a momentary respite once the blast gets cleaved in half though it soon becomes worse as 18 manages to shatter the sound barrier just as a figure grows closer and closer. The top of the skyscraper and instantly, Vegeta knows what's about to come and finds himself unable to do anything about it. The damage to his body, just from this handful of blows has left it in a sorry state.

All he can do is let out a quickly silenced yell of anger and terror before rammed through thirty stories of glass, concrete, and stainless steel.

Like the shell of an egg, a third of the island breaks from the impact of Vegeta hitting ground level. Massive cracks form all throughout, splitting streets and buildings alike, allowing the nearby roaring ocean to rush in-between, slowly sinking everything into its depths. Emerging from the sinking ruins of the skyscraper, Android 18 holds the nearly unconscious Vegeta by the hair, letting him almost dangle in the air before tossing him into a nearby wall.

As he lies there, half-dead and choking on the salt water eating away at his throat and nostrils, a feeling of frustration and restlessness eats away at him. Not the same one from the weeks following Kakarot's demise. No, this bears a frightening resemblance to the last moments of agony he spent against Freeza. Beaten, bloody and tired as if he aged 50 years. Once more, the power he thought would let him overcome any challenge turned out to be not enough.

He manages to push his back against the wall when something akin to a jolt of electricity hits him courtesy of his  _ki_  sense. He senses Piccolo's energy fizzle out and immediately, he knows the worst consequence of his death: the Dragon Balls are no more. Any hope of Piccolo perhaps being alive quickly dies with the arrival of Android 17.

"I see you're still having fun with this one." He casts a sideway glance at the scowling Vegeta. "Should've known you got the better deal with the rock, paper, scissors game."

"Piccolo wasn't all he was cracked up to be?" 17 shakes his head. "That's a shame. Maybe you can try your luck with the tri-clops. The old man's data says he's pretty strong, for a human anyway."

"And risk running into that clown thing? No thanks."

"It's either them or the shortie and the loser, take your pick."

Falling silent for a moment, 17 weighs the pros and cons of each group without a care in the world. "Eh, I'll take the tri-clops and clown instead. Hopefully, they didn't croak from that little welcoming blast."

With his mind made up, 17 departs back towards the city, allowing his sister to end her business with Vegeta. "So, you're still awake. I figured you'd play dead after hearing about the green man dying."

"I already told you..." Growls Vegeta as he slowly gets back up. "A true Saiyan warrior relishes battle, no matter what."

Clenching his fists, Vegeta fights through the pain and with a shout, reaches into the scant remains of his energy reserves for one, final transformation. "So what if the Namekian is dead? You think the Dragon Balls end will make me scared? Make me beg for my life? I already let my spirit get broken once!" His golden aura flares up with his temper, causing several pieces of debris to start floating all around him.

" **AND I'LL DIE BEFORE IT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!** "

With no hope of victory and ready to die, Vegeta launches himself at the smirking Android, roaring like the finest of his ancestors did whenever they charged to every battle the outcome be damned. The matter of the Dragon Balls being rendered useless matters far less than he thought it would, admittedly. For if he's going to die permanently, he refuses to simply lie in the dirt, bleeding and broken. Not again, never again.

As he nears the one surely responsible for his demise, the world around him slows down as a single image pops up in his head. Whenever he thought of his death, he expected to see his glorious triumphant from his countless conquests across the cosmos. Or even the days on Planet Vegeta with his father and kin.

Instead, he sees a little baby boy, holding a ball and smiling right back at him.

* * *

**4 Months Prior, West City**

As per his usual routine ever since arriving on Earth, Vegeta stands in the red lit Gravity Chamber parked in the back yard of Capsule Corp headquarters. Clad in his standard Saiyan battle armor, he dodges the dozens of laser beams launched from the equally numerous attack drones with utter ease. A long time ago, such a gravity would've sent him falling to the ground and staying there, now he avoids them with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as light as a leaf, a sign of his mastery.

Once he took pride in this achievement, seeing it as another stepping stone to him reclaiming the mantle of strongest Saiyan. Now, it's just another in a long series of exercises he keeps putting himself through just to pass the seemingly endless hours of the Earth's day.

For a time, this strategy has worked. Keeping his mind off recent events and letting him vent off steam, but the law of diminishing returns applies to all things. Slowly but surely, the same thrill shrank with each passing day. Leaving him bored with the repetition though not quite enough for him to quit outright. Today, he feels more so than any other.

Today, his thoughts wander back to the day he witnessed the power of the Super Saiyan up close. The day Freeza and his hidden father, King Cold arrived to lay waste to the Earth. How everyone was certain their world was doomed, how Freeza's gargantuan flaming ball of  _ki_  loomed over them like an incoming meteorite and how, out of nowhere, Kakarot appeared to swat it away with complete ease.

Glowing with the legendary power, he did what Vegeta dreamed of many times during his years of service under Freeza: completely annihilate him. Though he apparently gave the tyrant plenty of opportunities to simply leave them alone, his advice went unheeded once again and Kakarot couldn't let it happen again. With the largest energy wave Vegeta had ever seen, Kakarot vaporized Freeza and King Cold out of existence and ended the PTOs reign of terror across the cosmos.

The others were thrilled and amazed by this display, but not Vegeta. He merely stared on with envy as Kakarot once again left him in the dust. He accepted the low-class fighter as the one destined to destroy Freeza on Namek well enough. For he was dying and his power was clearly not good enough to do it, but Kakarot's was. So he asked, no, begged him to see things through to the end and though he took his time doing so, Kakarot avenged the Saiyan's of planet Vegeta.

The only problem with this: Vegeta was still alive. His impending demise forced him to dash away his pride in a last ditch effort to see Freeza destroyed. But now he was alive again, his pride still wounded despite the respect he found for Kakarot for achieving the legendary Super Saiyan state and defeating Freeza.

For two and a half years, Vegeta sought to rectify this mistake. To take his place as the true, strongest Saiyan of all and just as he thought he did it by attaining the legendary power as well. Kakarot was fading away. Now he's gone, beyond the ability of any Dragon Balls to restore him to life. Sent away to some place where he'll keep getting stronger and stronger for all eternity while Vegeta wastes away.

It isn't until he feels a faint sting to his forehead that Vegeta snaps out of his trance and finds himself standing in the middle of the chamber. Assaulted from all sides by the lasers yet their attacks do little to him. Looking down on the floor like a scolded child he lets out a tired sigh and with a few button presses shuts down the chamber. Too mentally drained and physically sickened by the tedium to force himself through it anymore.

The setting sun is the first thing to welcome him as he walks onto the grass of Capsule Corp headquarters. Not knowing anything better to do with himself, Vegeta simply walks back inside the headquarters, ignoring the greetings of the secretary entirely as he makes his way back to his own sleeping quarters.

As he passes through the somewhat claustrophobic corridors of the bubble shaped building, Vegeta passes by an open door and stops dead in his tracks when something of inhuman speed darts past his head. Instantly, his warrior instincts activate, letting him narrowly avoid the projectile and see its trajectory as if it were another one of these gravity chamber lasers.

The ball smashes against the walls of the corridor, leaving dents all over until Vegeta finally snatches it out of the air. The force behind the throw was so great, the ball even smokes as if burning for a moment until finally cooling off in his hand. Upon further inspection, Vegeta notices that the ball isn't a ball at all, but an orb like drone, one he hasn't seen thus far. Either an old obsolete model or one yet to be released he guesses.

That's when he hears a childlike giggle in the room next to him and looks inside to find the baby Trunks looking at him with an innocence only someone of his age could. At his feet, he finds a whole toolbox Vegeta instantly recognizes as Bulma's and wonders to himself how the boy even managed to get here, much less climb high enough to the table to knock it down.

"What are you-"

The boy sends another object his way, this time with even greater force and speed behind it though Vegeta is far more alert now and snatches the screwdriver just as it's about to cut his cheek. Noticing that the boys calling out for his ball back, Vegeta finds himself intrigued and tosses the ball with the same force as his son did.

As it did before, the drone smashes against the walls only to be stopped moments later by Trunks, not even a year old, leaping into the air and catching it before landing onto the ground as if he'd been practicing the maneuver when no one was looking. Then he slumps back onto the ground, a giggling baby just like any other.

For the first time in a while, Vegeta finds himself genuinely smiling at the display. "Hmm, not bad kid."

As if he perfectly understood him, Trunks' enthusiasm only grows, prompting him to prepare another toss at his father. Impressed by his display and with little else to do, Vegeta decides to play this little game and prepares himself for the incoming toss.


	3. The World Kings Mightiest Crane!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would have gotten this out sooner, but flu season started here recently and this year I caught the bug. I did do quite a bit of reading though so hopefully some of what I tried to take note of from those better writers has rubbed off on me. As always, feel free to comment on the series in whatever way you want, even if it's just a question about the Wrath sequel instead, just don't expect too much information on that front.

**Chapter 3: The World Kings Mightiest Crane!**

**May 12th, Age 767, Amenbo Island**

"Vegeta..." Mutters Chiaotzu as he, from the safety of an abandoned home's basement, senses the Saiyan Princes energy fade tremendously with each passing moment and a shiver goes down his spine. Awakening quickly after the initial ambush from their unknown and seemingly invisible attackers, a sense of relief washed over him despite the others being missing, scattered or possibly dead. But now? With both Piccolo, Vegeta and Goku dead and Gohan left behind, that relief seems like a distant memory.

Rising back to his feet from his meditative position, the tiny Crane warrior paces back and forth as he weighs his options. With Piccolo and Kami now gone, the Earth's Dragon Balls are little more than rocks scattered across the planet, of no use to anyone. And with someone of Vegeta's caliber, a warrior who's strength rivaled or even surpassed Goku's just before his death, he knows their odds of winning now are very slim indeed.

A problem only made worse by the absence or even possible deaths of Yamcha and Krillin. Not for the first time today, Chiaotzu considers using his telepathic abilities to reach out and find them before quickly shooting the idea down. If he had the slightest idea of what they were dealing with then he might risk it.

However, the enemy, whoever they are managed to defeat their strongest available fighters and remain completely undetectable to him throughout the duration of their fights. Masking your power level for a sneak attack is one thing, but fighting a Super Saiyan at his apex and still not registering at all is another.

Who are they? What do they want? What can they do? Can they detect other people's energies? Do they have some other way of doing so Chiaotzu and the others aren't aware of? All of this uncertainty makes him nervous to even so much as levitate off the ground, let alone reach out throughout an entire city telepathically. For all he knows, both the attackers could be right outside, waiting to pounce on him at any given moment and he'd be completely oblivious until it was too late.

A sudden, almost inhuman moan nearby quickly puts an end to his pacing as he leaps into the air and nearly yelps before putting his hand over his mouth. Uttering a barely audible and mumbled curse directed at Yamcha and his scary movies, Chiaotzu identifies the source of the noise as a waking up Tien and allows himself a small, relieved chuckle.

"C-Chiaotzu?" He coughs out his best friends name. "Where-"

"Easy Tien," Chiaotzu advises with a soft, quiet tone as he takes hold of the larger fighters outstretched, wandering hand. "You've been out cold for a while now, but it's okay. We're safe here."

Despite his friends reassurance and the aching of his entire body, Tien forces himself up with Chiaotzu clinging close by, half-expecting the three-eyed warrior to tumble over. Balancing himself by pressing his hand against a nearby wall, he examines his darkly lit and dust covered surroundings with only a small window letting in the settings sun's light in. The first thing he notices before anything else, however, is the fact he and Chiaotzu and completely alone. Nor can he sense anyone else either.

Knowing he won't like what he's about to hear, Tien's eyes dart over to his friend. "What happened Chiaotzu? Where  _is_  everyone?"

His lowered head and hesitation to speak speaks volumes before Chiaotzu finally musters the will to confirm his suspicions. "I don't know where Krillin and Yamcha are. They could be hiding just like us..."

 _Or they're dead..._ The possibility crosses Tien's mind as he focuses his sense onto finding any trace of Vegeta or Piccolo. He knows neither of them would back down from a fight, especially the Saiyan prince. But, just like with his fellow Earthling warriors, he can't sense them at all. With these two things in mind, he knows there can be only one explanation.

"Piccolo and Vegeta are dead." More of a statement than a question, Chiaotzu confirms it with a slight, hesitant nod. Despite his history with the original Piccolo and disdain for the Saiyan, Tien knows full well that they were the Earth's strongest fighters with Gohan a distant third and Goku dead. Two warriors with levels of strength he thought unobtainable before the arrival of Raditz changed everything. Now they're both gone, possibly with Yamcha and Krillin as well.

Noticing that the numbness is slow to fade, Tien backs away from the wall and launches a series of quick jabs and kicks. "We can't stay here anymore," he states after taking a quick breath. "We've got to get off this island and find a better place to hold up until King Kai or Goku call for us."

"Exactly," He backflips into the air, landing on one hand. "With Piccolo gone, Kami's gone too and the last time that happened we all got invited to train on King Kai's planet where Goku's probably right now." He switches arms to push himself up with. "There's no way either of them would just sit back after what's happened here today and do nothing."

"The Namekian Dragon Balls," Chiaotzu mutters as he begins to see the full picture. "You're counting on those to bring everyone back to life, aren't you?"

"Not right away no," finally feeling comfortable in his own skin again, Tien performs another backflip and lands in front of Chiaotzu. "These guys, whoever they are, beat Vegeta who was as strong as Goku, meaning they're much nastier than even Freeza. We'll all need some serious training if we're going to have any chance of beating them."

 _Even then, I doubt anyone but Piccolo, Vegeta and maybe Gohan could win..._ Chiaotzu concludes based on the growth rate of the aliens in comparison to the humans though after the last argument with Tien on the subject, he opts not to say it out loud. "What about Krillin or Yamcha-"

The sound of an explosion followed by a sudden and violent trembling nearly sends them both plummeting to the ground. Exchanging worried glances, the two rush to the lone window of the basement and sees dozens of energy blasts going off in all directions. Each one getting closer and closer to where they are now.

"Damn it," Tien curses under his breath before wrapping his arm around Chiaotzu. Despite the boys protests about using his energy, the three-eyed warrior knows there's little time to think of an alternative and with a kiai, blasts through the concrete floor and creates a vast, wide pit several feet deep Landing at the bottom of it, he glances up for a split second as the intensity of the rumbling grows with the approaching explosion before firing another kiai in front of him.

A second later, the beams finally reach the house with the pit beginning to crash down on itself. Tien and Chiaotzu both rush forward into the tunnel, narrowly avoiding the dirt and debris crashing down behind them. The rumbling goes on for a little while longer, moving further and further away from the two of warriors as they sit down in total, pitch black darkness.

Eventually, it all stops with nothing leaving nothing but the sounds of their own faint breaths to be heard. Regardless of how useless it is, the two try to sense their attackers regardless, hoping to catch anything to give them a sense as to where they are. Suddenly the rumbling starts again with both of them tensing up with the pieces of the tunnel crumbling all around them.

Loud cracks form over their heads with the tunnel filling more and more chunks of rock, quickly reaching up to their knees when they find themselves assaulted by rays of sunlight creeping so far down as the rocks shift upward. That's when it hits them, the rumbling isn't another barrage of blasts, but a single, aimed telekinetic move focused on ripping an entire square block into the sky.

In a matter of seconds, it hovers so far up it could dwarf most of the islands twenty story skyscrapers with a sole figure hovering just underneath it with a smirk on his face. Tien expected someone like Freeza or one of his men, something alien looking and otherworldly.

Instead he finds a boy, no more than 20 years old at best holding up an entire city block with nothing but his mind. With a single flick of his finger, he sends the chunk of ground hurtling towards the nearby ocean with the same ease and force a professional player tosses a baseball.

"Bad idea using your powers, tri-clops," 17 shouts as he descends toward them. "If you just dug down the old fashioned way you  **might've**  gotten away."

"I intend to," Tien mutters before taking off into the air, his white aura enveloping him entirely only to find himself smacked back down mere seconds later after being rammed in the back by 17. Regardless, he tries to take off once again only for 17 to snatch him by the leg and casually flings him back through the edge of the crater, using his whole body to split it in half.

Still in Tien's arms, Chiaotzu sees 17 rushing towards them and fires off a pair of Dodon Rays to no effect. 17 casually smacks them aside and pulls back his arm for a punch. Seeing the attack coming, Tien flings his friend up into the air and tries to put his arms in front of his chest to block the attack. Like a torpedo, 17 smashes into him, carving the street in half as he pushes the human warrior further and further with each consecutive punch.

Gritting his teeth, Tien closes his eyes and lets himself fall into something of a trans as he gathers _ki_ all throughout his body. With a single breath, Tien's eyes burst open as a brilliant, red and flame-like aura is unleashed.

" **Kaio-ken**!" He roars upon snatching the punch of a surprised 17 and promptly striking him in the throat with a well-aimed knee strike. Knowing that the boy will likely compensate for his doubled power, Tien takes the technique a step further and takes it up to a times three, allowing him to quickly close the distance and land a punch to 17s face.

He manages to land several more quick, successive punches before suffering another stomach blow from 17. For an instant, his whole body goes numb as the Kaio-ken is knocked out of him. Instead of simply letting this lie, however, Tien merely smirks despite the blood dripping from his lips and powers up once more, this time to a times four Kaio-ken and head-butts 17 away.

Watching the battle from the ground, Chiaotzu prepares to activate his own, meager Kaio-ken despite the horribly detrimental effect it has on his underdeveloped body when he hears Tien's voice echo through his mind.

 _Don't even think about it Chiaotz_ _u!_ He roars while exchanging blows with 17, knowing full well that the Android is toying with him.  _Just get out of here now while you've got a chance! Find Gohan and Bulma and tell them what's happened here! They need to know before its too late!_

_I can't just leave you here! That guy'll kill you for sure!_

Suffering a spin kick to the side of his face, Tien nearly plummets back to the ground before powering up once more, this time to the highest level he can comfortably use without massive damage to his body or energy reserves, a Kaio-ken times 5.  _Like I said earlier, Goku and King Kai aren't going to let this lie. We'll be training and back on Earth in no time! Before that day comes, we need someone, anyone down here to make sure somethings left to save!_

Finding himself frozen in place, Chiaotzu continues to watch Tien battle as he considers his words. He knows Tien's right, that someone has to stay behind and make sure the entire planet isn't annihilated while they're gone. Yet with each pained grunt or gasp he hears, Chiaotzu finds it harder to simply leave him regardless if his next death is only temporary.

 _Good luck Tien..._  Is all he tells him before taking off into the air in the exact opposite direction from the two of them, trying his best to ignore the seething urge to turn back and fight. His departure doesn't go unnoticed by 17 who casually avoids Tien's punches and glances over to the fleeing warrior.

 _I always wanted to shoot down a clown._ With a smirk, 17 casually smacks Tien aside, sending him crashing into the ground before launching a wave of  _ki_  Chiaotzu's way. The distance between the attack and its intended target closes in a matter of seconds with Chiaotzu looking back and frantically trying to shake it off though it follows him regardless.

Clenching his fists, Tien powers back up and tries intercept it only for 17 to pin him down with his foot. "Sorry but no dice, you're friends a goner-"

Bursting from his back, Tien's extra pair of arms take hold of the surprised 17s face and with the boost of a Kaio-ken times five, unleashing a massive wave of energy strong enough to momentarily stun the Android. A moment Tien immediately uses to rush after the blast chasing after Chiaotzu, yet his current speed fails him, not helped at all by the damage done to his body and his draining energy reserves.

Not that he's about to let any of this stop him, gathering his strength for a last push, Tien dials up the Kaio-ken to a level too dangerous for a man of his present level to use with anything but severe drawbacks. A Kaio-ken times 10.

With the extraordinary rush of power, Tien, for the few brief heartbeats it lasts, feels invincible and reinvigorated, like he can destroy anyone or anything.

 _If only._ He wishes upon reaching the tip of the blast and with a sharp turn to the right presses his entire body against the blast, using his own propulsion to try and slow it down. Even with his vast increase in strength, Tien only barely manages to slow the blast down, now being powered up by 17 firing several smaller ones into it.

Sensing the struggle, Chiaotzu turns back and watches Tien's red aura get overwhelmed a mass of yellow, surging  _ki_  barreling down on him. Once again, he fights back the urge to turn back and fight, instead he flies even faster away and telepathically contacts his friends one last time.  _Good luck Tien._

 _You two old friend..._ Feeling like every fiber of his being is on fire with the Kaio-ken eating away at him from the inside and 17s blast on the outside, Tien barely manages to form a diamond with his finger and with all the power he has left declares, " **NEO-TRI BEAM HHHHAAAAAAA!** "

* * *

**3 Months Prior, The Farm**

Standing on the edge of a waterfall at midday, Tien looks over the vast and beautifully shining ocean before him as he prepares for his daily exercise. Positioning himself in a half crouching position he crosses his arms over his chest as a white aura envelopes him. A second Tien splits away from him, fading into reality, then another and another.

The three copies enter their fight poses with the original still standing with his back turned to them. Cracking the bones of his neck, the original Tien activates the basic Kaio-ken and is the first to vanish from view with his copies following suite. Floating just above the waves, the three copies come at Tien with nothing held back.

Ordinarily their combined efforts would overwhelm a single opponent just from sheer strength of numbers. But with the Kaio-ken activated, the true Tien holds his own, intercepting, evading or canceling each and every attack sent his way. At least, until his copies do the same, prompting him to upgrade to a times three and immediately, he winces from the strain.

Under normal conditions, a times three Kaio-ken would be a simple thing to use. But with his power and body literally split in half, he finds himself breathing heavily already. Two of the clones come from the front while the third positions himself from behind him, preparing to fire a Tri-Beam while the original is too pre-occupied with fisticuffs.

Using the Four Witches technique, he grows another pair of arms from his back and places both the extra hands together into a diamond shape with a Tri-Beam charging up. It isn't until all the clones simultaneously dial up to a times three Kaio-ken that Tien finds himself pressured. Blocking one blow, another lands a hit to his gut followed by kick to his face and a combined kiai breaking his concentration and putting him closer to the back clone.

Taking hold of their respective punches, Tien grits his teeth and with a painful gulp powers up to a times four and promptly tosses both his copies into the harms way of the Tri-Beam, managing to eliminate one while the other powers up as well, flying himself out of harms way.

With a sharp gasp for air, Tien powers down completely and wipes the sweat from his brow. Only the disappearance of one of the clones and his power being added back gives him somewhat of a reprieve. Both his remaining clones don't seem to be faring any better, both of them panting with the Tri-Beam one flickering in and out of existence.

Steeling himself, Tien powers back up with his copies doing the same and they renew their fight. Landing a hit on one of his clones and catching a kick with his back arms, he spins one of his copies into the other and with the thrust of both his hands fires a wave that sends the other clone crashing into the water with an explosion going off shortly thereafter.

Feeling his strength rise, the stress of the Kaio-ken lessens substantially now that he's more whole. However, his clone also receives the same boost and promptly rams a kick to Tien's stomach. With a Kaio-ken times four activate, he grows his own pair of extra arms and unleashes a volley of blasts at the original.

Taking a single deep breath, Tien rises to a Kaio-ken times five and with his four arms swats away each of the incoming balls with quick karate chops. With a roar, Tien powers up once again, this time to a times six and lunges toward the clone, closing the vast distance between them in a matter of seconds. With his hands mere inches from the clones face, he fires an under-powered Tri-Beam that, nonetheless, annihilates the copy from existence.

Gasping for air, Tien feels woozy and hovers closer to the ground when he notices Chiaotzu standing on the cliff-side edge and waving a piece of a Senzu Bean in the air. "Need a little boost?"

With a chuckle, Tien nods and chows down after snatching it out of the from Chiaotzu's throw. "Good thing Korin had a few lying these lying around. Otherwise I'd be a wreck every other day."

"You wouldn't need them if you didn't train so hard," Chiaotzu points as he and Tien sit down on a pair of small boulders. "Letting yourself relax once in a while wouldn't hurt you know."

"Probably, but I don't think it would work, if I'm not doing something, anything like training I don't know what to do with myself."

"Getting a hobby might help," Chiaotzu rubs his chin in fake consideration. "Maybe finding a baseball team to root for?"

"That'd be pretty boring, I'd just bet on Yamcha's team every time and win for sure." He points out with a smile, getting a chuckle out of Chiaotzu. "Besides, with Goku gone, we've got to stay sharp in case something goes wrong."

"Or if a certain someone acts up," Chiaotzu's implication doesn't go over Tien's head who's face grows far more serious.

"He's dangerous Chiaotzu, now more than ever." He doesn't bother hiding his disdain for the Saiyan prince in question. "I can't imagine how Bulma and Yamcha can stomach living with him."

"Vegeta hasn't done anything so far, he's even dialed back on his training if my senses are right."

"Good, that means when he does start up trouble he'll be sloppier and we'll be prepared. With his level of power we'll need every advantage we can take."

"You know," Chiaotzu begins as he recollects past events. "You, and Piccolo weren't exactly the nicest of guys. Heck, Piccolo's still kind of scary but you've both changed. Maybe Vegeta will too?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," Tien growls. "So far he's still the same arrogant bastard he was when he came to kill us all and sell our planet for money. The only difference now is he's got no boss to sell it to, he can't settle his grudge with Goku and he doesn't have a home. He's stuck here. But if someone came along and gave him a good deal in exchange for destroying the Earth, he'd take it in a heartbeat."

"Is that why you've been practically killing yourself every day? You're gunning for Vegeta?"

"I won't pick a fight with him if he doesn't do anything if that's what you're implying," Tien admits, knowing full well what Vegeta's true power is like and where he stacks up. "With the Kaio-ken and Tri-Beam I could take him in his regular state I think. But that Super Saiyan power of his... Its too much for me, right now at least. But make no mistake Chiaotzu, something else will come. It might be Vegeta or another alien but these past few years have taught me is that the Earth attracts the wrong kind of attention. And we've got to be ready to for it when it comes, especially with Goku gone."


	4. Humanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, we've reached the end of the "everyone dying" stage of the story. Originally I intended for everyone to well, die. Just like they do in the regular Future Trunks timeline but as I thought more about the next, Otherworld phase of the story, I couldn't come up with anything for most of the human cast to do bar Tien. Next chapter won't have much action, but it will serve as the setup for a particular rematch the FT timeline never got to have.

**May 12th, Age 767, Amenbo Island**

"How much further Krillin?"

"Just... gimme a second..." Placing the flashlight into his mouth, the bald monk pins the map of the underground and underwater railway system connecting Amenbo Island to its nearby neighbors and the mainland. Constructed twenty years prior with the assistance of the engineer prowess of the Capsule Corp company, now these tunnels once responsible for taking people from their homes to jobs lie either destroyed, or in the case of Tunnel 03, serve as a temporary safe haven.

Unlike the stronger fighters such as Piccolo or Vegeta who were able to recover quickly and engage the enemy or Tien and Chiaotzu who were lost in the ensuing chaos. Krillin and Yamcha, some of the finest warriors ever produced not just by the Turtle School, but in the history of mankind ended up in the railway system, buried under rubble like dozens of others once the power failed island wide.

Fearing discovery by the enemy and sensing the deaths of Vegeta and Piccolo, two beings who's powers far dwarfed their own, the two Turtle students opted for a sneakier approach. Suppressing their powers and intent helping the citizens responsible for dragging them out of the rubble, they lead the men, women and children through the tunnel in hopes of finding some refuge.

Without their  _ki_  to light the path, they resort to simpler means of traversing through the dark tunnel with lighters, flashlights, cell phones, matches,... Any source of light available.

"5-C... " Krillin muffles the painted designation on the wall and then glances down to check the map. With a pleased smirk he picks up his walkie talkie and contacts Yamcha. "We're in luck, just another 15 or 20 minutes of walking and we'll get to the mainland!"

 _A lot can go wrong in 20 minutes..._ Is the first thing to pop into Yamcha's head as he glances around the people at the back end of the line, covering their backs while Krillin protects the front. Despite the dim light provided by whatever they have in hand, the ex bandit recognizes the looks of fear and hesitation on every single person there. The kind of look he used to enjoy seeing, it let him knew he was the one with the upper hand during his bandit days.

Bitting back those memories and his own, recently surfacing but long festering skepticism, he responds with his usual, chipper tone. "Sounds good, the sooner we're out of here the better."

"I hear ya," Krillin looks up at the surrounding tunnel and not for the first time since coming there, feels unnerved by being surrounded by water that could drown them all in no time should the enemy make even a reasonably big crack.

Not interested in spending the remaining time down here imagining himself and everyone else sinking into a terrible, watery grave, Krillin contacts his fellow Turtle pupil. "You think Tien and Chiaotzu made it out okay?"

With a sigh, he once again fights back the urge to de-moralize the clearly stressed out Krillin. "Tien's one of the toughest guys I know. He wouldn't let himself or Chiaotzu die from an attack like that. They've probably just hiding out, sneaking off this rock same as us."

"I wish we could be sure," Krillin admits. "After sensing what happened to Vegeta and Piccolo... Its just too damn quiet now y'know? You can't just kill a Super Saiyan and Super Namekian without a peep." Unintentionally raising his voice, Krillin turns to find the civilians marching behind him seeming even more nervous than before.

_Poor guys even more worried than I am..._

"Its nothing folks," He hears Krillin voice once more, calmer and more reassuring this time. "Just keep moving and we'll be out of here soon."

Feeling like he's back against a wall in his many arguments with Bulma where he's got nothing to say, Yamcha tells him the only thing he can despite not being sure he believes it himself. "We'll get through this Krillin, we always do."

"I know we do, its just..." He lowers his head. "I wish Goku were here, he always knew exactly what to do in these kinds of situations."

"You and me both-"

A massive, sudden trembling of the ground instantly puts everyone on edge, freezing them in place as quivering of the ground along with the loud sounds of explosions is precisely what tipped them off to the catastrophe befalling the surface. Children cling closer to their parents who respond in kind. The injured and elderly, from renewed determination or fear break way from the one assisting them and prepare to pick up their own slack, not interested in slowing anyone done or getting them killed.

Yet Krillin and Yamcha sense something else in the midst of this, not their mysterious enemy but a single, familiar source of energy in the direction of the explosions. One belonging to Tien Shinhan. While the citizens march on, quite a bit faster with a jogging pace now as opposed to their previous, more hesitant walking one. Both of them remain still, clenching their fists as Tien's signature once again vanishes as quickly as it appeared with the explosions halting soon afterward as well.

"Krillin," Yamcha's voice breaks the silence as he steadily losses his cool facade and prepares to take off. "We've gotta do something-"

"No!" The monk states firmly with a seriousness to his voice Yamcha hasn't heard in a very long time. "There's nothing we can do for him we've got keep moving and get everyone else out of here!"

"Are you serious?! You really expect me to just walk away like nothing happened?! Tien wouldn't do that to us."

"And he wouldn't want us to die for nothing either!" Krillin snaps, not enjoying this anymore than the ex bandit. "Think about it, Vegeta and Piccolo are dead. Two guys leaps and bounds stronger than any of us humans! If they couldn't beat these guys, then we can't either! All we'd be doing is getting ourselves killed!"

Yamcha grimaces at his friends words, not remotely amused by the tables turning with the previously worried Krillin holding steadfast while he, once again, starts cracking once the pressure. He knows Krillin is right, the deaths of Piccolo and Vegeta reverberated through their minds crystal clear. But even with the burning urge to ignore Krillin's sound advice and rush headlong into battle, he knows he'd be abandoning one friend to try, and very likely fail, to save another.

Either way, for yet another time in his life, Yamcha knows he'll fail someone regardless, and very familiar but always disgusting feeling hurts more than anything else. Noticing that he's falling behind from the group, Yamcha presses down on the walkie talkie button as he runs to catch up. "You're right, lets get out of this place."

"I'm sorry Yamcha, if I thought we stood a chance-"

"You'd back me up for sure," The ex bandit forces a smile and both end the conversation there, not feeling particularly talkative anymore. Another quake begins again, this time lacking the accompanying explosions and nowhere near the previous ones strength. The tense calm of the tunnel temporarily returns once again when a massive shadow falls over it followed by the light taping of rocks falling against its upper section.

Glancing up the source of this noise, Yamcha spots an entire city block yanked out of the ground and descending on the tunnel. Knowing there's no time to do anything else without risking discovery, Yamcha reaches out the land mass sinking towards them and with a simple kiai, blasts it away.

"Yamcha!" Krillin's voice buzzes through the walkie talkie. "What happened?! Why did you-"

"They're trying to drown us Krillin!" The ex bandit barks back as he focuses his  _ki_ on the people marching toward him, dumbfounded by his previous display of power and levitates them off the ground. Knowing that the enemy most certainly knows they're there anyway, Yamcha stops suppressing his power and runs with the people in toe as fast as he can with the terrified citizens levitating behind him.

"Come on people! They know we're here! Move!" Krillin urges to his half of the group, taking some of the slower people up with his pure strength and rushes towards the nearby exit as everyone else. For a few brief moments they fool themselves into thinking they might just get out of this, that is, until Yamcha hears the cracking of glasses followed by a loud burst of water behind him. In no time, the ocean utterly devours most of the tunnel with it reaching the back of the fleeing party.

 _Damn it!_  Yamcha curses and places the levitating citizens down onto the ground, "Just keep running! You'll be out of here in no time!".

Turning to face the incoming onslaught of the sea, Yamcha places his hand forward and telepathically holds it back, knowing full well he's making himself into a target. A fact that doesn't go unnoticed by Krillin who immediately senses him back there and calls out to him. "Yamcha! Get out of there now!"

"No can do Krillin," The ex bandit replies with a smirk and surprisingly calm voice even being perfectly aware of what this choice will cost him. "You haven't tipped them off yet, so just get out of here while you can and find the others. God knows you'll be a lot more useful to them than me."

"There's no way-" Before his friends plea can come clearly through, Yamcha crushes the walkie talkie and tosses its remains to the side. His mind is made up, and nothing, even the risk of a painful death will deter him. Far into the distance, Yamcha once again senses Tien, substantially more powerful now along with Chiaotzu seemingly flying in the opposite direction.

 _Tien must be holding one of them off for him._ Yamcha guesses as Tien's power once again grows, no doubt from the useful if straining Kaio-Ken technique taught to all three of them during their months on the World Kings tiny planet.  _Maybe I won't get my butt kicked as badly-_

A sudden, strong and most importantly, familiar  _ki_ appears behind Yamcha, leaving him dumbfounded as he feels and sees it rush past him, flying directly into the wave of water before arriving to surface level. Feeling his blood boil, the ex bandit contacts the culprit telepathically.  _Krillin! What the hell do you think you're doing?!_

 _Not letting another one of my friends die that's what!_ The monk mentally yells from above the ocean waves, facing down the smirking Android 18 hovering in front of him.

"Damn," 18 mutters with genuine regret. "I was hoping you'd stay down and let the loser take the fall. It always pains me to hurt a cute one."

 _Figures._ Krillin curses, temporarily ending his link with Yamcha.  _The first girl to say I'm cute is a crazy mass murderer, just my luck._

As he, and his friends usually do, Krillin shouts as a white aura envelops him, increasing his power level. Despite only moderately training, the Guru's potential unlock on Namek has, for the past 3 years, yielded him extraordinary increases in strength. Even dwarfing the strength of say Tien and Yamcha at their peaks. Charging forward, he unleashes a flurry of punches her way with 17 casually hovering away from them.

Sensing this back at the tunnel, Yamcha grits his teeth and once again establishes contact with Krillin.  _And what about me huh? You think I want to see one of **my**  friends die when he doesn't have to?_

 _Stop arguing with me!_ Krillin barks back.  _You and I both know Chiaotzu got out of here, Tien's powering up like crazy over there, probably holding off the other one. Things are gonna get bad down here and some of us have to make sure the whole planet doesn't go to Hell!_

 _Then you do it!_ Yamcha roars, feeling useless once again despite completely resigning himself to death, thinking that he'd at least secure the life of a vastly stronger and successful warrior to help the Earth in exchange for his own life.  _You and I both know I'm useless! All I'll do is just screw everything up like I always do!_

"Ka... Me... Ha... Me... HA!" Krillin roars as he unleashes the Turtle Schools signature energy blast, enveloping completely with it only for her to emerge from the smoke cloud completely unscathed. With a kick far beyond his abilities to even register, let alone dodge, Krillin is smashed back into the nearby mainland, carving the edge of it in half with his aching body.

 _Whats done is done Yamcha, nothing either of us say or do is gonna change things. Just... get out of here, find the others, make sure they're safe while the rest of us get ready in the afterlife._ Floating back up, Krillin tries to make his numb left arm work, getting only a small jitter in response. Regardless, he powers up once again and flies back at 18.

Sensing Tien's power spike up as well, the monk allows himself a cocky smirk as he finds some comfort in the fact they're both about to go all out, consequences be damned. Before ending contact with his fellow pupil.  _Besides, dying's not so bad when you get used to it._

18 does nothing, merely standing there, smirking with her arms crossed and actually mulling over whether or not to let him live at least. Even though his power pales in comparison to say Piccolo, Vegeta or whatever that massive spike from Tien was just now, she begins to wonder just how long destroying helpless humans will remain entertaining.

A large, yellow disk of  _ki_ forms over Krillin's outstretched arm, creating his most devastating attack: the Kienzan. An attack formed not by shaping energy into a ball or pouring as much of it as humanly possible into an all out attack but by refinement. Forcing the very life energy of every living beyond into a mix between a flying buzz-saw and a surgically precise laser.

Cursing his arm injury for making it impossible to combine his technique with a Taiyoken, Krillin lets the disk fly and begs to any and every deity out there for her confidence to backfire horribly and let him end this here and now. For an instant it, he lets himself believe it too as she merely stands there, thinking herself too strong to take the attack. Maybe she is, but maybe she isn't.

"Get down!" Another voice suddenly yells out of nowhere and with it, another figure, a male resembling her quite a bit under his tattered clothes and numerous bloody bruises flies right into her and narrowly manages to get them both out of the disks path.

The newly arrived enemy shoots Krillin a venomous glare and without a moments hesitation, thrusts his hand forward and unleashes a wave of energy that instantly blasts right through Krillin's mid-section. The monk doesn't even yell or scream or get to put up a fight, instead he simply lets out a single, blood filled cough before plummeting into the ocean below.

18 hovers behind her brother and winces upon noticing an actual, bleeding cut on her cheek where the disk grazed her.  _He actually would've killed me._ She admits in a mix of shock and genuine admiration, not once thinking that an attack of someone so beneath her level would actually work. Looking away from the throbbing cut, she looks over to her brother and notices his ruined clothing and bleeding cuts all over his face and body from where she could see it.

"It was the tri-clops," He mutters with a spit as if he read her mind. "Bastard went all out and actually managed to hurt me good. Too bad he dropped dead right after or I'd have done worse to him."

"Same old 17," She chuckles. "Always smiling when things go your way but when your ego gets bruised..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," He cracks the bones of his spine, feeling tense all over. "The clown got away though, think we should go after him?"

"Nah, the strongest aliens and humans here are dead and gone. The clown and loser can't do anything even if they want to," She grabs him arm. "Lets get you fixed up, can't look like a beat up hobo while we take over the world, right?"

Feeling his anger die down, 17 nod and smiles at her. "Not that you mention it, this might be the best chance to get me a tuxedo. I always wanted one."

With that, the two of them fly off to hit the next target in what will be a long, and dreadful time for the Earth. Completely oblivious of Yamcha, who hid inside the crack made by Krillin's impact and listened to all of it unfold. Look down into the nearby ocean, the ex bandit knows it would be futile getting his body out, Kami likely snatched it immediately.

With a sigh, Yamcha, jumps back up and senses Chiaotzu flying towards Mount Paozu, no doubt to inform Gohan of the disaster here. With a grimace, Yamcha knows that only leaves him with one option _. Capsule Corp..._

* * *

**Two Months Ago, Training Island**

No matter how many times they repeated the exercise, now or back when they first started out for what seemed like two life times ago, Krillin and Yamcha never get tired of that early morning sun. For countless mornings spent training on this island, it always accompanied them and Goku during their practice sessions. Once they held it in contempt, a beginning to another grueling day of practice. But now, it would feel off without it.

The two traverse the vast steps leading to the upper section of the island. Another part of the exercise that once made them nearly groan to death was now a piece of cake, even with a pair of extra heavy turtle shells attached to their backs. As per Master Roshi's routine, the two march up, each holding boxes filled with cartons of milk made to be distributed across the entire island. At this point either of them could just fly anywhere and do it easily, but this was better. It kept them occupied.

"Hey Krillin," Yamcha speaks up, letting his body instinctively take each and every step as his blank, thousand mile stare encroaches on his facial features, not for the first time either. "You ever think your life's going nowhere?"

"Well..." The monk began following a quick glance at Yamcha's direction and quickly found his somewhat good mood ruined. Not that he could blame Yamcha for feeling this way, the guy was never what you'd call lucky. Even if Krillin's own prowess was nothing in comparison to Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo or even a child like Gohan, Krillin at the very least managed to add something to their battles despite the odds.

Yamcha, however, could never catch a break. Always he trained just as hard as anyone else, and always humiliation and defeat were his only 'rewards'. The loss of Bulma to Vegeta of all people was just the latest, and arguably worst blow of them all.

 _At least he had a girlfriend..._ A nasty, jealous little voice suddenly speaks up with Krillin immediately wishing it was an actual, physical being capable of getting a deserved beat down. But even with the guilt of feeling this way, he knew it was on some level right. With his 30th birthday merely two weeks away, Krillin can't help but feel like he's somehow stunted. Still living with Master Roshi after 18 years on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, nothing in his own personnel life budging an inch amongst all the ancient evils, galactic invaders and genocidal space emperors.

With a heavy heart, he lowers his head and responds, "I hear ya. Almost 30 years old and I'm still doing... this..." His eyes look over to the same milk bottles he's been delivering since he was a boy. For a split second he considers just smashing them against the ground and flying away, never to return.

As if reading his mind, Yamcha actually says it. "Sometimes I think about leaving here, y'know? Just fly off and never come back."

"But, you just got here."

"Not here, specifically," Yamcha corrects, his features growing sterner. "I meant the Earth, Krillin.

Perplexed and somewhat intrigued by the idea, the two of them stop in the middle of the stone stairway with Yamcha looking up into the sky. "We know there are lots of planets out there with all sorts of people, good and bad. Planets that might not have anyone to keep them safe like Earth does. Maybe its time they did."

"I don't know Yamcha," Krillin rubs the back of his head. "This planets kind of our home, leaving it would feel wrong..."

"Like we'll make a difference," The ex bandit states matter of factly. "Gohan, Piccolo and Vegeta are the ones that'll make the real difference when something goes wrong. For all our training the fact of the matter is, we're useless here."

"And we'd do better out in space?"

"Sure as hell better than here where we'll never amount to anything in the one place we've spent our whole lives dedicated too."

His last comment hit a bit to close to home for Krillin's liking, yet even aware of these facts, he can't seem to agree with Yamcha. From experience, he knows that humans can't stack up to the likes of warrior Namekian's or Saiyan's, but with the right techniques and mind set, they could be just as deadly in other ways. Freeza's slice of tail can attest to that.

"If you feel so strongly about this, why not suggest it to Tien? He's not exactly thrilled with this either."

Yamcha shakes his head. "Tien's too deluded with pride. He still thinks he can go in there and fight someone of Freeza's level like he's actually capable of it. His pride won't let him back down even if he secretly knows he can't catch up."

Once again, Krillin must agree with him to a point. Ever since his revival, he can sense Tien pushing himself to an insane levels each and every day. Even Vegeta, now apparently taking up more of a fatherly role has decreased his training while Tien and Piccolo have kept their respective paces going.

"I get how you both feel, I do, but," He looks Yamcha right in the eye. "Trying to pretend something we're not or running away isn't the answer. I want to help out just as much as you guys do, but we should do it on our own terms."

Yamcha lets out a defeated sigh, expecting to hear an answer like that. "I wish I could agree with that Krillin, must I've been beaten down too many times to believe that now. And frankly, I'm sick of losing everything and everyone."

Powering up, Yamcha takes off into the air, letting the meaning of his final statement linger. Bulma and Goku were both important in his life, with both of them gone in one way or another, Krillin can't honestly blame him for wanting to get away from everything and start fresh. Even on a potentially stranger, faraway alien planet.

Sensing that Yamcha's gone back to Master Roshi's, Krillin merely sighs and picks up the pace for both of them. Not interested in letting anything deter him from completing the task at hand. After all, that's what Goku would do.


	5. Dark Days Are Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, this time, around but I did warn you guys last time not to expect much beyond some setup for the next section of the story. Hopefully, the ending makes it all worth it, though. The lack of progression and people just reacting to things is primarily what made this a problematic one for me to complete.

"Smoke continues to rise from Amenbo Island with attempts to re-establish communication failing-"

"Eyewitness reports from the mainland speak of massive seismic activity-"

"Disturbing reports of city-wide destruction-"

"An entire city block tossed-"

Irritated with channel after channel of news concerning the latest of crises to befall the Earth, Bulma turns off the TV, leaving only the sound of sparks and sizzling metal to break the silence. In anticipation for the Saiyan invasion, Bulma made a habit of throwing herself into whatever piece of technology caught her eye while the doomsday clock to Earth's probable destruction kept ticking away.

Her lips twist into a faint smile at the irony of the situation. How she spent days on end, analyzing and reverse engineering every facet of the Saiyan scouter while Vegeta and his partner raced across space to destroy everything she knows and cares for. Now she finds herself doing the same, carving her blow torch into the last of Vegeta's authentic chest plates from his time in Freeza's army. Only now, she tries to keep her herself from worrying for the Princes safety.

Not a feeling she ever expected to have for the man, certainly with his usual behavior, even if his ferocity and boldness drew her to him in the first place. At first, she thought that might be all there was to him. A temperamental, proud warrior through and through. Until she found him playing with Trunks one day a few months after Goku's passing, looking like he was genuinely enjoying himself. The first of what became a habit between them when before Vegeta barely seemed to acknowledge the boy's existence.

Even if he seemed only interested in his combative potential, it was better than nothing as she suspected. Besides, as her first adventure with Goku proved, strong bonds can form even if one of the two parties involved is working an angle.

Hearing her son's cry in the other room, Bulma realizes she's been staring at the damaged chest piece for who knows how long. Placing the disabled torch onto the bench along with her work gloves, she walks across the hallway into Trunks' baby room and smiles at the weeping infant in the crib. Taking the boy, she cradles him gently in her arms to no avail, his crying won't stop.

Despite putting on a reassuring smile, she can't keep her own anxiousness hidden, not from him. With neither her work or the comfort of pleasant memories to distract her, the sense of dread she's felt ever since Vegeta flew off to Amenbo returns in full force. A feeling shared between mother and son as she takes note of how he's never wept like this before. Well, with the exception of one day not too long ago.

"Bulma!"

Hearing an all too familiar voice behind her, Bulma turns around to find Yamcha standing on the edge of the window from the outer side. Reminding her, for just a moment, of the many times, he'd tap on her window in the middle of the night before whisking her away on a date. Memories from another, simpler time. Immediately she takes notice of the spots of dirt all over his face and tattered clothing, the heaviness of his breathing and an expression of a man on the verge of collapse. Something which very nearly happens if not for Bulma putting his arm over her shoulder and helping him through the window frame.

Placing him onto the chair she sits at to read Trunks his night time stories, he gladly crumbles into it and allows himself a moment to rest. "T-thanks..."

 _He's even worse than I thought._ She concludes after having a closer look at his limp and tired appearance. "Wait here, I'll go get you some water-"

"No!" His hand catches hers. "There's no time for... For that... We've got to get out of here..."

"Get out of here?" She turns to face him. "You can't go anywhere! Look at yourself!"

"I'm fine!" A fit of coughing follows his yell, earning him a look all too familiar from Bulma, a look whenever she was proven right. In any other situation, he'd relent and let her do as she pleases, but he can't afford to, not this time.

Letting go of her hand, Yamcha forces himself out of the chair and manages to remain on his feet despite his aching knees. "See? Now call your folks and pack whatever you need, we've got to get to the Lookout asap. It's one place safe on Earth, maybe even the only one."

"Pack our thing-" She shakes her head. "What are you talking about Yamcha? What's going on? Where is everyone-"

Before she finishes or he can reply, the expression on his face tells her everything she needs to know and everything she and Trunks have feared since the first news about Amenbo reached them. The baby's weeping intensifies, the only thing keeping a chilly silence from filling the room.

With a gulp, she tries to ask a question she already knows the answer to. "They're gone, aren't they?"

"Chiaotzu and I are the only ones who made it..." He admits, mentally cursing himself and Krillin. "Tien, Krillin, Piccolo,... Vegeta... None of us stood a chance, not even with a Super Saiyan on our side."

He places his hands gently on her shoulders. "I know you've probably got a million questions for me, and I promise I'll answer them, but first we've got to you all to safety first. The things that we're dealing with... They're unlike anything we've fought before. They could be right over our heads right now, ready to blow us up and I wouldn't see it coming. So please, call your folks and help me get you all to safety, okay?"

"Just tell me one thing," She fights back the flood of questions and emotions, particularly one gnawing at her for what she's about to ask Yamcha of all people. "What's going to happen to Vegeta in the afterlife?"

It takes all the self-control he can conjure up to keep his true thoughts from betraying him. As a former resident of the afterlife himself, Yamcha along with the close circle of friends around Goku is well aware of what it takes to retain one's physical body after death. A life devoted to performing good or heroic acts of selflessness, earning such beings a privilege reserved only for the finest individuals the universe has to offer. Something Bulma herself is aware of along with the fact the others have earned this reward before and likely will again.

The same cannot be said for the late Prince Vegeta, one who spent most of his life up until very recently a planet a merciless, planet destroying warrior with little in the way of mercy, compassion or nobility. A life which will likely earn him a fate war worse than death. A fate of reincarnation. One where everything he is, was and could have been being erased from existence along with his physical form and is sent back to the living world as a new life form. One completely devoid of any knowledge of who or what he was before. A fate most terrible for one who takes such pride in who he is and where he comes from.

But Yamcha doesn't let her catch onto his true thoughts, instead, he gives her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about him," He states with an expression he reserved for moments of genuine sincerity between them. "Goku's gonna put in a good word for him, he'll be back down here in no time."

* * *

**Mount Paozu**

Once there was a time not too long ago where finding himself in a place like this would've brought him to tears. Alone, out in the wilderness and standing naked atop the same waterfall his father leaped into whenever he wanted to fish. The same man he'd most assuredly call out to, to rescue him and bring him back home from such a situation.

Instead, Son Gohan simply smirks, leaping over a dozen feet into the air before descending back towards the water below with nary a worry in his mind. After all, once you've faced down planet conquerors and their galactic overlord of a boss, catching truck sized fish with your bare hands is nothing. The warm water is welcoming with the boy taking his time to go after his prey, opting instead to enjoy the sensation for a little while.

Schools of small fish swim away from the young half-Saiyan, as all animals do when a predator come into their territory. Especially one as frequent to visit as Gohan. The boy only casts them a sideways glance before swimming on. They're too small to appease his monstrous, Saiyan inherited appetite. One fish does, however. A massive thing, almost the size of his own house with fines the as long as airplane wings and razor sharp teeth fit for a meat grinder.

The sight of such a creature would prompt any person to swim in the exact opposite direction for dear life. Instead, Gohan simply smirks and with enough strength to crack a mountain in half, closes the distance with a simple swipe of his limbs. Like a torpedo, he blasts through the ocean depths and rams headfirst into the fishes left side, sending it hurtling into a nearby rocky wall.

Following a loud thud, the creature dislodges from the newly formed crack with a faint trail of blood coming from the fresh cut on its head. With it dead, Gohan snatches it by the tail and floats out of the water, returning back to the top of the waterfall.

We're eating good tonight! He imagines the giant fished, freshly cooked, sliced up and placed on the table right outside their home. Just thinking about it makes his stomach growl. Towel drying himself at super speed, Gohan puts his clothes back on and takes off into the air, opting to leap rather than fly for a bit of exercise on the way there. Checking his wrist watch, he notices there's still a good deal of time left for him to deliver the fish and for his mother to prepare it, he opts to take a quick detour to a nearby clearing.

Landing in the middle of it, Gohan drops the fish and walks towards a simple gravestone sticking out of the ground. With a tiny smile and a hint of sadness in his voice Gohan calls out the name carved into the stone. "Hey, dad."

He kneels before it. "I hope you're doing okay in Other World, you've probably got a lot of really strong friends there to train and hang out with. You're probably having the time of your... afterlife up there."

Taking a quick breath, he continues. "Mom and I are doing great! The baby's healthy but mom shoots me down whenever I ask her if its a boy or a girl. The other day I even considered asking Shenron about it." A small chuckle escapes his lips. "Piccolo visits us often, helping out around the house and with my training. It's not much but, at least, I'm keeping my skills sharp, even mom's okay with me doing it now as long as I keep up with my studies."

An awkward silence follows with his smile fading. "It's still not the same without you... I know this isn't the first time we've had to go on without you but... I wish my brother or sister could've gotten to meet you at least once..."

Not wanting to his mother to see that he cried and needlessly worry herself, Gohan fights them back and composes himself, remembering his training and previous experiences with such things. Instead, the boy simply smiles and bows upon returning to his feet. "I'll visit you again soon dad, but I've gotta get home with dinner. Just the kind of fish you'd bring for us."

Taking hold of his catch, Gohan puts its massive tail over his comparatively minuscule body and leaps into the air, leaving his father's empty tomb behind him. Just as his home comes into view, a familiar voice gets his attention. "I knew you'd be here,"

Looking to his left, Gohan spots a smirking Piccolo flying just above the trees next to him, his eyes examining the massive sea creature dangling from the boys shoulder. "How does your mother even manage to cook something like that?"

"Beats me, I'd do it myself on a fire outside but mom says only savages eat like that." Gohan laughs at the thought of her reaction to the kind of cooking he had to perform during his six months spent alone in the wilderness. "Speaking of mom, is that for her?"

He points out a small flask in the aliens left hand, receiving an affirmative nod from him. "Last time I visited she use the Yunzabit ice water for her tea and couldn't stop fawning over how good it was. Figured it might make a nice gift."

The two stop flying and leaping respectively upon reaching the road leading up to the house. As if she could sense them, Chi-Chi's promptly calls out to them. "Gohan! Did you get the fish?!"

Noticing Piccolo cringe slightly from the sound of his mothers yell, Gohan chuckles before calling back. "I got it, mom! Mister Piccolo's here too and he's brought that ice water you like!"

"That's great dear! Why don't you two come inside and I'll get you some lemonade!"

"Thanks, mom!" Finally reaching the house, Gohan places the fish next to the front entrance and takes hold of the door knob only for Piccolo's hand to land his shoulder. Noticing his expression turn grim, he gives his master a puzzled look. "Is something wrong?"

"Remember this feeling of relaxation Gohan," The door begins creeks open ever so slightly thanks to a nudge from Piccolo. "And don't be afraid, I'll be with you every step of the way."

Before the boy can ask what exactly he meant by this, the two of them cross the threshold of the door. The half-Saiyan expects to find himself in his home with his mother preparing to give them their lemonade. A warm, welcoming and familiar sight. Yet what he finds all around him can be described as anything but. Both of them now stand in the middle of a ruined, abandoned city with cracked streets littered with crushed cars and other abandoned belongings. The smashed buildings either tilt at odd angles or are ablaze in fire.

"W-what is this-" A sudden shift happens with the entire world whizzing past all around them while they remain still. Looking at the altered surroundings, Gohan find an even more, peculiar sight, another Piccolo. This one battered, panting and standing opposite of another figure. A blonde woman in her early 20s with a cold stare eerily reminding him of Freeza.

The second Piccolo clumsily lashes out at the woman with a swing of his claws only to miss. For a moment he stands there, looking for any sign of her whereabouts with his opponent appearing behind him. He responds by spinning around for another attack only for the woman to drive her foot into his chest with a powerful kick. With a defeated last gasp, the second Piccolo plummets to his knees and finally falls against the ruined concrete, dead.

Staring at the whole ordeal with a look of abject horror, Gohan's fists clench as his temper once again overtakes any other emotion and prompts him to attack the woman with all his might. But before he can do so, he feels a hand tighten on his shoulder and he looks up to find Piccolo smiling down at him. Perplexed, Gohan turns back to where the fight happened and finds another Piccolo dead along with the other, perfectly fine one next to him.

"Piccolo... What... What is this?"

"Look around Gohan," He extends his hand and gestures towards their surroundings. "Look around, remember, and you'll find the answer."

Doing as instructed, Gohan calms himself and concentrates. The first thing he notices is the lack of the woman and the second Piccolo but quickly puts that ordeal aside and takes a close look at the city. At first, he only feels a very passing familiarity with the place. Immediately he knows he's never been here yet he's seen it recently enough for it to appear eerily familiar to him.

Soon he begins to connect the dots, remembering small glimpses of streets and buildings from a news report, a report about a disaster on Amenbo island. The area shifts again, this time returning them both back to his house where he finds himself, Piccolo and Chi-Chi in his living room, watching the report about a pair of people firing lasers from their hands and destroying everything in their path.

The Piccolo turns to leave with Gohan in toe, but is quickly stopped by his master delivering a powerful and sudden chop to his neck. Ignoring Chi-Chi's shocked accusations, he simply leaves for the island. That's when he finally realizes just what is happening here. "You're... dead..."

"Yes, we are."

He looks back up to his master. "We?"

Not sensing any rise in Gohan's power or the possibility of him doing anything rash, Piccolo kneels next to the boy. "All of us with the exception of you got to Amenbo Island shortly after the broadcast started. Even though we couldn't sense anything, we all knew something was very wrong there. That's when they ambushed and picked us all of one by one."

Gohan gulps, hesitant to ask the first question on his mind. Luckily for him, Piccolo answers it immediately. "Only Yamcha and Chiaotzu made it out of there. No one of us, not even Vegeta as a Super Saiyan could stand up to these... whatever the hell they are."

"B-But that's impossible!" Gohan exclaims. "Super Saiyan's are the strongest fighters in the whole universe! There's no way just some random teenagers could beat one! Especially Vegeta!"

"And yet they did," Piccolo replies grimly, knowing how bad such an idea sounds just as well as Gohan. "We don't know much about these two besides the fact they're completely undetectable to us, but they can hunt us down just fine. They even seemed to know exactly who we are before even meeting us."

"That's why you did this..." He begins to examine as the dots connect in his head. "You knew that if you just told me what happened while I was awake that I might do something rash and give away my location to these two. That's why you're here, inside my mind."

Piccolo smirks at his apprentice and gives him an affirmative nod. "It might seem a bit excessive but you must understand, Tien got spotted by kiai. Even the slightest, most unintentional rise in your power could've tipped them off. And given where you are now, I couldn't afford to endanger you or Chi-Chi."

"You mean my house?"

"You're not there anymore," The environment shifts once again, this time revealing the back end of a Capsule Corp vessel piloted by Chiaotzu with a sleeping Gohan, and worried pair of Chi-Chi and the Ox-King in the back. "Chiaotzu made it to Mount Paozu and told them what happened. They," The scene shifts again, this time giving a few of a sight very similar to the previous one only this time with Yamcha and the Briefs family. "And the Briefs are on their way to the Lookout as we speak."

"The only safe place left on Earth..." He concludes, with their best fighters dead and the Dragon Balls of Earth rendered useless the entire planet is now little more than a playground for this new threat to wreak havoc across. Feeling horribly tired and more than a little afraid, Gohan looks back to his master. "Please tell me you've got a plan for this."

"Of course, in fact all the pieces for our plan are almost in place," He looks Gohan right in the eye. "All we need is two more things and we can get started."

"M-Me?" He takes a step back. "B-But I'm not dead! How am I supposed to get to Other World?"

"There's a woman, the sister of Goku's old mentor called Fortuneteller Baba. She might not look like much but she has the ability to take dead who've retained their bodies to and from the afterlife. Thanks to a little help from King Kai, we've arranged for you to get the same treatment. All you need to do now is make your way to her location without the use of your _ki_."

Despite feeling a somewhat renewed sense of comfort with the fact there's a plan in motion to bring everyone back and end this threat, Gohan cannot help but wince at the idea of leaving. Though he knows he cannot stop this threat by himself without either the aid or training the others can afford him, he also remembers that his mother is pregnant. His mother who's already had to deal with the shock of losing her husband so suddenly would now have to deal with her son leaving too and for who knows how long.

On the other hand, he knows what he's capable of and with training under not only Piccolo but also his father, a Kai and who knows what other fighters from the afterlife, he could quickly gain enough strength to end this threat. Plus with the Namekian Dragon Balls at their disposal, any damage done to the Earth is temporary at best. Still, the thought of his mother being abandoned by yet another member of her family and living under threat of constant destruction weighs heavily on him.

He sighs. "Mom's not going to like this... I'm not sure I do either..."

"I know you don't," Piccolo puts a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "And I wouldn't ask you this if I didn't think it was necessary but we need you Gohan. Even if we manage to put a leash on Vegeta, I still would feel a lot better going against these two with you by my side."

"Vegeta?" He raises an eyebrow. "What about Vegeta? Isn't he going to help us."

This time, its Piccolo's turn to sigh as he feels a migraine setting in. "He wants to fight our new enemies yes, whether he'll get the chance to..."

* * *

"... Depends entirely on your father."

Since the birth of the universe, Snake Way has stood as an infamous part of the Seventh Universes afterlife. A million kilometer long path of stone carved to resemble the serpent creature in its name. In almost the exact length of time, this same architectural feat has served as the ultimate test of strength and endurance for any warrior worthy enough to keep his body. A traitorous path where countless men and women across the cosmos have fallen over the side of into the horribly cheerful depths of Hell, never to be seen again. Destroying some of the finest warriors ever produced by the sheer daunting task of traversing it.

Another pair of warriors currently make their way across it as well. Yet unlike their predecessors who ran and ran for months or even years on end with great effort, the two in question casually fly over the structure thanks to their advanced and well-trained flight ability. Crossing millions of kilometers with utter ease.

Upon reaching its end, the two land on a tiny green planet floating just above the end of Snake Way. The first fighter, clad in the orange gi of the Turtle School has already traversed the infamous Snake Way twice before, to earn the power necessary to defeat the same man standing opposite of him. A man clad in a human-made version of the notorious armor belonging to Freeza's army.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Goku asks, performing a few quick exercises to relax his muscles with the same child-like grin plastered across his face.

"Indeed, it does," Vegeta admits, replying with the same smirk and tone of superiority befitting a proud Prince such as him. "But this time, Kakarot, there'll be no one on the sidelines to come to your rescue. This time, victory will be mine."

Spreading his legs equally, Vegeta places his left arm just in front his head with his other arm going to the side, the glow of the Super Saiyan enveloping him as he does so. Goku responds in kind, entering his own stance with his upper body leaning forward, the dominant right arm going forward while the left is pushed to the back as he too transforms.

The two stare each other down with only the humming of their golden auras breaking the silence. Sporting pleased smirks at what's about to come next, the two roar at one another and takes off into the air. Their colliding fists unleashing a burst of energy that reverberates all the way back to King Yemma's Check-In Station.


	6. A Dangerous Gamble!

**Chapter 6: A Dangerous Gamble!**

**Then, The Check-In Station**

Returning to the Check-In Station is not an uncommon occurrence. By the very design of the universe, souls enter in one form and following King Yemma's judgment usually end up in one of two places where they may eternally rest. Though many more end up in another, less hospitable place if only temporarily. A place where their bodies get destroyed and their minds wiped just before returning to the living plane. To spend new lives in new bodies under new names until Yemma's judgment may favor them in the next life.

Now he's faced with the second exception to this rule, and with a group of people from the same planet from the first one as well. A party from Earth consisting of Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Kami, and lastly Vegeta.

Out of said group silently standing calmly before the giant Krillin is the exception. He fidgets nervously, looking all around the place. Though he's felt the sting of death twice before, he can't recall ever being here and certainly not meeting someone like Yemma.

 _Relax Krillin,_ He hears Kami's reassuring voice inside his head. _King Yemma is merely checking our records out of formality. Trust me, you've more than earned the right to retain your body in death._

 _Oh no! It's not that!_ The monk mentally chuckles. _It's just that..._ He slowly and carefully tries to look up only to send his head back down after catching Yemma's gaze. _He's kind of scary!_

 _That he is my boy, that he is._ Kami agree, knowing better than anyone here what it's like to incur Yemma's wrath even by accident.

The judge of death shifts in his chair, sending out a loud creek, halting any conversations of the vocal or mental variety. "I'm pleased most you have kept up your good behavior," Yemma comments without looking away from the notebook inches from his face. "In-fact, Piccolo has shown quite a marked improvement. Assisting in the defeat of Freeza, protecting the planet from his attack, defending Amenbo Island."

He places the book down and stamps four seals onto the pages pertaining to each individual member, giving them all a genuinely friendly smile. "The four of you have more than earned the right to keep your bodies or in Kami's case, get a second trip to Heaven."

Krillin lets out a sigh of relief as the anxiety simply washes away, earning him a friendly pat on the back from Tien. "I would tell you to breathe but, y'know."

"Yeah," He chuckles at the irony of trying to breathe as a dead man when he notices grim expressions on both Vegeta and Piccolo's faces. Suddenly, he doesn't feel so good anymore.

"King Yemma," Piccolo calls out to him with a respectful tone of voice befitting for one of Yemma's station. "You mentioned only four of us receiving the right to move onto better parts of the afterlife. What of Vegeta?"

Yemma's smile instantly fades, replaced by a stern expression as he shifts focus away from the others and onto the Saiyan Prince in question glaring back at him defiantly. "I'm surprised you'd ask me this Piccolo, I thought you were smarter than that."

The Namekian gulps before responding. "I know he's... difficult to excuse, but we've no intention of staying dead your lordship. Our world is in danger and we'll need his help to save it. If he's sent to Hell or reincarnated-"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Vegeta snaps at Piccolo, earning startled expressions from Kami and Krillin while Piccolo, Tien, and Yemma shoot daggers at him. "I am the Prince of all Saiyan's, and I won't let some red clown determine my fate! Especially when I have a score to settle here and on Earth!"

"A red clown you say?" Yemma repeats with a humorless chuckle. "You really don't grasp the severity of your situation, do you Vegeta? Then allow me to make it clear."

Shifting through the pages of his notebook, Yemma lands on Vegeta's page and with a simple tap of his finger, sends a jolt through the Princes soul equaling the force of one billion punches all over his body. His form fades out of existence for a brief moment though manages to stabilize itself, leaving Vegeta gawking in abject horror.

"I am the judge of the afterlife. He who has judged the souls of mortals from the beginning of time and will do so until the end of time. I've encountered souls both noble and terrible throughout the eons." He narrows his eyes at the soul in question. "And you, Prince Vegeta are certainly among the worst."

Clearing his throat, Yemma reads through his history for all to hear. "In the 33 years you've spent alive, you've devoted most of that life to acts of unspeakable horror and destruction. You've personally slaughtered countless innocent souls for nothing but the pleasure of it. You've toppled entire civilizations without mercy and your contributions to defending Amenbo or defeating Freeza were nothing but exercises in stroking your own ego. Not selfless acts like the rest of your party."

The group remains silent with even Vegeta staying surprisingly quiet after tasting a fraction of what Yemma can do to those under his judgment. Despite not any of them being particularly fond of the Prince, Piccolo and Krillin hoped his assistance in the Amenbo and Freeza crises would help tip the scales in his favor. If only to guarantee his help once the fight came back to Earth.

Tien silently agrees with Yemma's decision. He's seen first hand the kind of man Vegeta truly is and has no interest in seeing him get rewarded with something men and women far his superiors deserve much more. _Good riddance._

"Beg your pardon King Yemma," Kami speaks up as with a respectful but firm tone. He walks to his other half and places a hand on his shoulder accompanied by a genuine smile. "But I believe your decision may be premature in this case."

"Is that so?" Yemma raises a surprised eyebrow at Kami's decision to interject knowing how much the deity fears him. "And why would that be?"

"I've come to know many of the people to whom these souls belong to through Son Goku. Though I'm closer to some than others, they have all proven themselves worthy people despite their past misdeeds."

He looks to Tien. "Tien Shinhan here along with his comrade Chiaotzu were once the pupil of Master Shen, a vile man with a notorious brother. They were trained to emulate the infamous Mercenary Tao and took great pride in defeating and humiliating their foes, some would say with the same fervor as Prince Vegeta here."

Standing next to him, Krillin notices Tien tense up at the mention of his previous lifestyle and mentality as he casts disapproving looks at both Kami and Vegeta.

"Though he's not here," The Guardian of Earth continues. "The one called Yamcha also spent a less than noble lifestyle. He and his comrade Puar attacked innocent people and robbed them, dooming many to death or worse."

He once again looks down at Piccolo without a hint of disdain. "And my other half here, Piccolo once laid waste to the planet Earth in his ruthless conquest while I, the one responsible for protecting it merely stood by and did nothing to stop him."

"Is there a point to this?"

"The point is very simple King Yemma," He smiles at the judge of death towering over him. "All of us present have done reprehensible things, and though they do not compare to Prince Vegeta's actions, a pattern is clearly present. A pattern of redemption, where past sins are corrected and brighter futures are forged. Even young Vegeta here has surely done something to prove he's not beyond it?"

Casting another look at the soul of Vegeta, Yemma opens his notebook and must begrudgingly admit that Kami is partly right at least. "Indeed, he has, quite recently in fact. Playing with his son, helping around the Brief house with some menial tasks, making some small efforts to assimilate into life on Earth."

Kami's smile falters a bit, helping with the groceries wasn't quite what he expected though he admits it's better than nothing. "You see? Small progress but progress nonetheless! Trust me, I too once thought some were above redemption but I've seen firsthand that it can be done."

"That being said," He peeks over the book at Kami with a disapproving look in his eye. "I cannot grant the honor of retaining one's body on the slim chance Vegeta **might** one day become worthy. Frankly, I don't see anything short of saving the entire universe could ever even make me consider it."

"Such a time may be fast approaching King Yemma," A new voice interjects, one familiar to all save Vegeta. A deep yet soft voice belonging to the deity responsible for looking over the entire Northern Quadrant of the galaxy: King Kai.

Yet behind him stands another, even more, surprising figure. With his black, unkempt hair, child-like grin and orange Turtle School gi, there is little room for doubt as to who King Kai's traveling companion is. "Hi, guys!"

"GOKU!" The name bursts forth from everyone's voice with an overwhelmed "Kakarot!" in somewhere in there. Krillin is the first to reach his friend and leaps into the air to hug him tightly.

"Man is it good to see you again Goku!"

"Wow, you've really missed me huh?" The Saiyan giggles as the two break their embrace. The next to approach is Tien, still keeping himself guarded but allowing a genuinely warm smile to break his stoic facade. With a firm handshake, the two greet one another. "I see you've kept up your training!"

"Of course, I couldn't just let you leave me in the dust after all," Tien replies with a bit of his younger, cockier self-returning to the surface.

Goku responds in kind with a cocky grin of his own. "I'm glad to hear it! It'll make our rematch all the more exciting!"

Breaking his handshake with Tien, Goku turns to Kami and Piccolo. "What? No hugs?"

"Not my style." Is all Piccolo tells him though the two of them do exchange friendly smiles and nods of approval while Kami opts for a more physical approach, shaking his former pupils hand and patting him on the back. "I'm glad you're doing well here my boy."

"I wish I could say the same for you guys," Goku admits with a hint of sadness as he looks at the halos hovering above their heads. "After we stopped Freeza's invasion I didn't think something like this could happen."

"Yeah, none of us did," Krillin admits, lowering his head at the shame of having died three times now. "But at least, they didn't get all of us, Gohan, Yamcha and Chiaotzu are still back on Earth."

"Something felt off about Amenbo the second I saw the news report, so I decided to give Gohan a little bonk on the head for a good night's sleep," Piccolo states, feeling ever so grateful for not letting him come.

"Well..." Goku rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "The thing is... It might've been better if he did end up here..."

A disapproving scowl from Piccolo immediately makes King Kai step forward to prevent his star pupil from being justifiably clashed across the face for such a badly worded statement. "What he meant to say is that Gohan being here would make what comes next considerably easier."

"Which is?" Asks Tien.

"In order to defeat this new threat to the Earth, you will all have to train under me and the other warriors on Grand Kai's planet. Gohan's potential is vast and with a dead body, he could've trained endlessly without the necessities of food, water or rest to hold him back. Still, if the boy is as determined as I think he is, this shouldn't be too much of a-"

"Ahem!" King Yemma speaks up, interrupting the reunion after everyone simply forgot he was even there. "While I'm glad to witness the reunion of old friends, I'm afraid there's still a matter to conclude."

At that moment, Goku finally acknowledges Vegeta's presence with the two staring at one another without a hint of humor previously displayed by the Earth raised Saiyan. "King Yemma," He calls out to the judge of death without looking away from Vegeta. "Could I make a request?"

 _Good grief, they're really not going to let me end this quickly will they?_ Yemma sighs and pinches the tip of his nose. "Very well, Goku. What is your request?"

"Well," He walks toward Yemma. "Vegeta and I have a score to settle you see? But since I died we never got a chance to have our rematch. Could you let him get his body back just until we get that out of the way?"

"You want me to give him back his body just so you two punch junkies can duke it out? Absurd!"

"Not just any rematch King Yemma!" An excitement starts creeping into Goku's voice. "A battle to determine the fate of Vegeta's soul!"

"What?!" Vegeta and everyone else with the exception of Yemma and King Kai yell in unison.

"If I beat Vegeta in a fair, one on one fight, his soul becomes my responsibility during his stay in Other World! If he does anything, if he so much as looks at someone funny, you can send us both to Hell."

" **WHAT?!** " This time, even King Yemma joins in as they all stare at Goku as if he's gone insane.

"Goku!" Tien breaks through the shock and calls out to him. "Think about what you're saying! Are you really going to risk going to Hell just to save Vegeta of all people?!"

"If that's what it takes for him to get the training he needs, then yeah, I will," Goku replies calmly, leaving them, even more, aghast than before. His gaze returns to Vegeta. "Besides, when I beat Vegeta, he's going to want to fight me even more than he already does. He's not gonna let **anything** take that away from him, even if it means being nice for a little while."

"And should you lose?" Yemma inquires.

"Then you can do what you want with Vegeta, but don't worry, I'll definitely beat him."

"Definitely beat me?" Vegeta repeats, forgetting the pain inflicted on him by Yemma and rises back to his feet with an amused chuckle escaping his lips. "Choose your words carefully Kakarot, or I might just make you regret it."

Goku smiles at him. "We'll see about that."

"Enough of this!" King Yemma's growl echoes throughout the room. "I decide what happens to who's soul and I won't-"

 _I'm sorry to enter your mind like this King Yemma._ The Kai sincerely apologizes. _But I'm afraid I must ask you to allow this. Though it may seem insane to put Goku's soul in such a situation, I assure you, he's more than capable of handling Vegeta._

_Is one planet truly worth so much effort King Kai?_

_Not just one planet._ He corrects the death judge. _As I said when we arrived, there is a greater threat emerging old friend. An ancient evil more terrible than a million Freeza's!_

Yemma stops for a moment and considers the Kai's words. Throughout the eons, only a handful of beings have ever posed such a threat to the Seventh Universe, one of which does it as his job. As he picks off names and possibilities, his heart skips a beat upon reaching the most likely, and most terrible choice out of them all. _You don't mean..._

_Word has spread of Freeza's defeat, it's only a matter of time before they figure out the one responsible for doing it is from Earth. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday soon, they will and its fighters must be ready for it at all costs! The fate of the universe will hinge on it!_

Trying his best to hide his shock, King Yemma considers the implications of King Kai's words. The return of a mindless force of destruction who could not only lay waste to the living plane but to Other World itself. Sending reality itself into a black void of chaos from which nothing could escape. And now, King Kai is putting his hopes in Vegeta and a handful of others to deal with it.

He almost smiles at the irony. _Using one monster to defeat another..._ With a hesitant hand, King Yemma opens his book and with a stamp, restores Vegeta's body. The Prince is engulfed in a bright light and is momentarily shocked by all the sensations of the flesh coming back to him so quickly.

"There, your body is restored Vegeta on the conditions given by Son Goku. But remember this Vegeta," Yemma leans forward, casting an imposing shadow over the Prince, managing to get a startled stare from him. "If you do anything to incur my wrath, anything at all, no one, not even a Kai will save you. Am I understood?"

Remembering the many grueling times he's had to bite his tongue in the presence a being of greater power than him, Vegeta kneels before Yemma, lowering his head as well. "I will do as you say King Yemma and respect the terms of this agreement," Vegeta promises with genuine respect and sincerity behind his words. _So long as I get my shot at Kakarot._

"Great!" Goku suddenly pats Vegeta on the back. "Now we can get down to business."

"Do it somewhere else," Yemma warns. "I won't have your fight lay waste to my station."

"Sure thing King Yemma," Goku turns to Vegeta. "There's a little planet nearby, follow me and we'll get there in no time."

"Hmph," Is all the response Goku gets as the two power up, engulfing them in white and blue auras respectively a split second before they take off towards King Kai's planet on the end of Snake Way, leaving the others with nothing to do but to watch and wait.

"I hope he knows what he's doing," Tien speaks up as he senses their powers in anticipation for the battle.

"Well, Goku's been training non-stop for six months now, he's probably way stronger now than he ever was before," Krillin comments though it does little to put Tien at ease.

"He knows what he's doing," Is all Piccolo says on the matter before turning to King Kai. "May I?"

"What?" King Kai looks away from Snake Way with a bad feeling in his gut about what condition his little planet will be in after the fight is over. "Oh yes! You need me to contact Gohan! Just put your hand on my shoulder and we'll get in touch with the boy in no time."

* * *

**Now, King Kai's planet**

Shock waves ripple through the air, rocking the small planet in every direction with each collision of blows. The two golden fighters zip in and out of sight, appearing for a hundredth of a second only to vanish into nothingness then re-appear for another clash. A poorly timed punch breaks this stalemate, giving Goku not only enough time to sidestep it but to perform a barely blocked spin kick to the side of Vegeta's face.

In the last possible second, Vegeta manages to land with his feet on the ground only to find Goku already there with another strike ready to go. Vegeta backflips out of kicks way and forms a large ball of blue _ki_ with his outstretched hand. "Big Bang Attack!"

Grinning at the approaching blast, Goku side flips out of its way and lands in a crouching position with both his feet and hands on the ground. Remembering the springboard sensation of the Kaio-Ken's rush of power, for an instant, he lets his aura flare up and like a wind-up toy, launches himself at full speed towards Vegeta.

Taken aback by the rush, Vegeta raises both his arms and tries to mount a defense only for the speed and force behind Goku's punch to send him not only off the ground but spinning in mid-air. Not one to miss an opportunity, Vegeta uses this new momentum to return the favor with a bit of help from his flying ability, positions himself perfectly to hit Goku across the face with a well-timed kick.

"Now you're mine!" Vegeta declares triumphantly and thrusts his arms forward, blasting Goku's entire body with a beam of built up energy. The beam bursts forth, thrice the size of the world they're battling on until fading into a simple, yet large cloud of smoke. Not in the mood to wait, Vegeta blows it away with a simple motion of his wrist and finds his adversary floating nearby, his clothes somewhat tattered though not much worse for wear.

"I'm glad this Other World hasn't made your body soft, Kakarot!" The Prince admits with his usual cocky tone. "Given how lazy you got on Earth, I was worried this would get boring quickly."

"You've gotten better too Vegeta," Goku replies, tilting his head to the sides with the bones of his neck snapping loudly in response to the movements. "If I hadn't died from the virus and we got a chance to fight back on Earth, you definitely would've beaten me good."

"Implying I can't do it now?" He crosses his arms and laughs. "All these proclamations of your superiority over me, have you let your success' go to your head Kakarot?"

"Maybe a little," Goku admits with a small laugh. "But given what's at stake, I'm not exactly in the mood to beat around the bush."

"Then let's stop wasting time!" Powering up, Vegeta unleashes a barrage of blasts at Goku, intentionally leaving an ideal route for his opponent to dodge them with. Noticing Goku take the bait, Vegeta smirks and flies off towards the end of said route and rams Goku right in the back, sending him hurtling towards his _ki_ attacks anyway.

Like a pinball, Goku is smacked around from blast to blast and find himself mere inches from the yellow clouds separating this section of Other World from the one beneath, from Hell. Halting his descent, Goku flies out of the way of Vegeta's chop kick and delivers a powerful uppercut to the Princes jaw. Pushing his right arm back, Goku presses his open palm against Vegeta's chest plate and smashes him right back into King Kai's planet with a single, forceful kiai.

With the Prince pinned inside and dazed for a moment, Goku's aura flares up as he claps both hands together and prepares to test out a new technique. Sparks of electricity surround him twist around and away from him as the energy is focused inside his hands. _Just a little more..._

"You'll pay for that, Kakarot!" Vegeta shouts at him from above, dislodging himself from the rock and charging towards him, his temper once again getting the better of his judgment. A mistake the Prince soon regrets when he spots Goku point both of his, electricity surrounded open palms towards him. "What in the-"

"THUNDER SHOCK SURPRISE!" A blast of lightning bursts forth from Goku's outstretched hands and in a matter of seconds ensnares Vegeta completely. Immediately, every fiber of his being is assaulted with a relentless onslaught of electrical currents. Goku knows the feeling all too well, for he found himself on the receiving end of the blast during the grand battle against Jackie Chun in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.

It takes all of Vegeta's willpower to keep from letting out so much as a peep, a fact not helped by his body simply refusing to listen to any command, leaving him little more than a paralyzed sack of flesh hovering in the air. Yet he refuses to give up, not now of all times. Not now when the one responsible for pushing him to these heights is is so close, all he needs to do is push a little more and victory will be his.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into fists, Vegeta growls angrily as his whole body jerks and shakes against the current of electricity all around him. _Move!_ He mentally shouts to his defiant body. _Move!_ The electric beam begins to destabilize, slowly but surely pushed back by Vegeta's own aura bursting forth and allowing him greater freedom of movement. _MOVE!_

With a mighty roar, Vegeta powers up and in turn, his aura blasts up a mile into the air. The entire area shakes with chunks of both King Kai's planet and Snake Way breaking off and floating upward. Goku stares in awe, amazed by Vegeta ability to break through such a crippling attack with nothing but sheer willpower. _Still, it's definitely taken a lot out of him._

Suddenly, his golden aura turns into a deep purple, its usual flame-like shape morphing into one of electrical discharges covering all of Vegeta. Vegeta curls his fingers and places both his hands together at chest level facing the same direction, leaving the palm of one hand on the back of another.

Goku smiles at the display impressed once again by Vegeta's reserves of strength. _It's just a shame we had to this now, with a little more training, we could've been totally even..._

"KAKAROT!" Vegeta shouts, bringing back the other Saiyan to reality. "YOU'VE MOCKED ME FOR THE LAST TIME! I DON'T CARE IF THIS DAMNS MY SOUL TO THE WORST YEMMA HAS TO OFFER! I WILL DEFEAT YOU! HERE AND NOW!"

Realizing this will end their fight, Goku powers up as well and cups his hands, drawing them to the user's side and concentrates the _ki_ into a single point between them. A ball of energy forms there as he chants the name of his favorite blast. "Ka... Ma... Ha... Ma..."

"GALICK GUN!" With its name declared, Vegeta fires the purple blast right at Goku without a hint of restraint or hesitation. He pours all the power he can muster into the blast and watches with a satisfied smirk as it seemingly engulfs his adversary completely. Just as quickly as it erupted like a volcano, it teeters out mere moments later, leaving Vegeta visibly drained. This matters little, for he cannot sense Goku's energy signature at all.

For years he trained to surpass him, to earn his rightful place as the strongest Saiyan of all. Yet some Earthling virus took this away from him, leaving him purposeless and hollow. Unleashing a proud and ecstatic laugh, Vegeta feels a swell of joy and pride wash over him. At long last, his rightful place and title are where they belong, with Prince Vegeta, last of his royal blood.

He laughs for what seems like an eternity to him, savoring every moment of this accomplishment as much as he can. For once Yemma hears of this, his soul will suffer for it. _And then I'll never see them again!_ As if struck by Goku's lightning attack once more, Vegeta's smile vanishes, leaving him frozen in the air. Now, with all his emotions of pride, anger, frustration and joy taken down a few notches, he realizes something, a downside to his victory he didn't expect to ever cross his mind, much less matter to him.

 _I won't see her or the boy again..._ He hears a voice in his head state and in that moment, Vegeta feels another emotion come to the surface, one he never thought he'd associate with crushing Kakarot: regret. _Have... Have I actually started to care-_

Before he can ask himself this question, he senses a powerful and familiar energy signature suddenly appear out of nowhere behind him, now many times stronger than it was when the fight started. Managing to turn his head, Vegeta's eyes widen in shock as he fully takes in the scene happening before him and knows full well, he can do nothing.

" **HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!** "

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a break in the grand tradition of putting the notes down here instead of up but I didn't want to spoil anything for you guys! Fans of the early DB material should be able to recognize Goku's "new" move here, maybe a hint of what's to come? I'll let you guys speculate on that for a while.
> 
> Hopefully, I managed to convey Vegeta's emotions well enough here. The tricky thing about writing him here is that this is basically a post Cell Games but Pre-Boo Vegeta, one robbed of his purpose and left alone with nothing but Bulma and Trunks to keep him going. But one who hasn't truly realized his own feelings for his family. I imagine if such a Vegeta got into this kind of fight, he'd do anything to beat Goku without putting much thought into what it would mean for Bulma or Trunks until it was all done. His pride and desire to win would cloud him to the bigger picture.
> 
> Now for the obligatory Power Level list!
> 
> Goku: 4.4 million (Base), 220 million (Super Saiyan), 240 million (Super Kamehameha)
> 
> Vegeta: 4.2 million (Base), 210 million (Super Saiyan), 230 million (Galick Gun)
> 
> Piccolo: 8 million (with weights), 10 million (without weights)
> 
> Krillin: 850 thousand
> 
> Tien: 130 thousand, 260 thousand (KKx2), 390 thousand (KKx3), 520 thousand (KKx4), 650 thousand (KKx5), 820 thousand (KKx5 + Tri-Beam)


	7. Crossing Over

* * *

**Chapter 7: Crossing Over**

"And I thought Goku's last fight was crazy..." Krillin comments in total awe of the power being generated by the clashing Super Saiyan's battling over a million kilometers away. After witnessing his best friends last titanic clash against the mechanically revived Freeza and his father, King Cold, he assumed it couldn't possibly get greater than that. "Just thinking about how strong he's gonna get in 50 years or something is freaking me out!"

 _You got that right._ Tien mentally agrees, feeling a mix of shock and excitement as he senses the vast difference in Goku's power. _Six months training under the masters of Other World and he's improved so much._ His lips twist into a cocky smirk befitting his older self rather than the newer, more stoic personality. _I can't wait to see what kind of progress I can make!_

To his side, King Kai observes the battle as well though with a much less excited outlook than the tri-clops. _My poor planet,_ his heart sinks just a little bit more with every blow. _Why must it suffer every time a powerful and reckless fool comes there?!_ He sighs. _Well, at least, I had the good sense to bring Bubbles over to Grand Kai's, I don't even want to think about what would happen to him with those two-_

_King Kai._

A gruff and unmistakable voice calls out to the deity in his mind, prompting him to calm down and address him with a demeanor more appropriate for a being of his position. Ah, _Piccolo! How may I help you?_

_If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask you a question._

_Let me guess, it's about my involvement in all of this?_

Piccolo nods his head. _When you came in, you said that the time for saving the universe is fast approaching. The current crisis on Earth is an isolated problem. So, unless you're expecting it to escalate, there's another problem you want us to solve for you. One important enough for you to personally come here to argue for Vegeta's soul over with the judge of the dead. What exactly are you afraid of so much?_

 _As usual Piccolo, you're the sharpest one here,_ The Kai replies with a smirk, expecting something like this to come up from him sooner or later. _And you're right, the situation on Earth isn't why I've come to ensure the survival of Vegeta's soul for the foreseeable future._ An undercurrent of fear slips into his voice. _A far greater adversary is on the move again and I believe you, Vegeta and Gohan stand the best chance of defeating it._

Two sudden spikes in power catch their attention, leaving them all in awe of the rising power with an extra dose of dread building up inside King Kai. _My poor planet is doomed for sure._

"It appears they're ready to settle this," Says Kami, focusing all his efforts on determining which of the two Super Saiyan's holds the advantage. "They appear roughly equal in strength so far..."

"That's weird, Goku's had the edge since this started, his Kamehameha should be enough to take down anything Vegeta can throw at him." Krillin points out, curious as to what his friend is playing at. "Well, even if he's holding back for whatever reason, I'm sure Vegeta won't risk damning his soul just to win."

Not receiving so much as a peep or even glance from the others, Krillin's eyes dart from one to the other. "Guys, Vegeta's not going to do that just to beat Goku, right?" He looks at them again with their only reply being silence and stone-faced expressions. "Guys...?"

They sense Vegeta firing his blast first with Goku still charging his, they all expect to sense him to retaliate at any moment, to push back Vegeta's attack back at him and end the fight once and for all. Nothing of the sort happens, what they sense instead makes their hearts skip a beat: the vanishing of Goku's _ki_. In a moment that feels like an eternity, no one says anything as they try to hone their sensing even more on what's happening at the end of Snake Way. Even with their differentiating world views and personalities, all of them with the exception of the smirking King Kai ask themselves the exact same question.

_He didn't just..._

The sudden reappearance of Goku, now even stronger thanks to fully charging his Kamehameha thankfully puts an end to their worst fears. With relieved sighs, they sense him unleash the blast right at drained Vegeta, securing his victory over the Saiyan Prince.

"Instant Transmission," Piccolo chuckles, feeling silly for getting worked up over nothing. "I should've known he'd learn how to use it in a pinch."

Minus the worried King Kai, the others present laugh as well, feeling just as foolish for forgetting easily one of Goku's most unique techniques. Sensing a considerable drop in Vegeta's strength, they guess he's either lost or on the very cusp of dropping out of his Super Saiyan state. What they don't sense is him stopping. Instead, the massive Kamehameha simply flies closer and closer towards the Check-In Station, traversing the vastness of Snake Way and becoming plainly visible from the edge of the Station.

"He's... Not stopping..." Tien hesitantly points out as the energy blast draws closer and closer to the Station, growing more gargantuan with each passing moment. "Can we stop that...?"

"I was kind of hoping Goku would..." Krillin takes a step back along with the others as it becomes glaringly obvious that the Kamehameha beam actually dwarfs the Check-In Station in terms of size. Soon, both the souls and Ogres going about their business notice the incoming blast as it looms a dreadful shadow over the structure, causing it to shake on its approach.

 _Damn it Goku!_ The Namekian mentally curses his former adversary and reaches for his turban and cape to discard them and hopefully raise his power enough to divert the Kamehameha. To his relief, along with everyone else's, the man responsible for it graces them with his presence.

Using Instant Transmission, Goku appears just ahead of his blast and with a shout thrusts his arms right at the wave of energy, halting its advance. Gritting his teeth, Goku drives his hands deeper into the Kamehameha, ignoring the burning sensation scorching his palms. Forming another wave of energy inside the Kamehameha, he discharges the blast causing a discharge between the two resulting in a massive, deafening explosion.

A white light coupled with noise nearly sends the rows upon rows of incoming souls into a panic, one only barely prevented by the nearby Ogres keeping them in line. Even Goku's friends and King Yemma covers their eyes, barely but defiantly standing their ground even in the presence of overwhelming power such as this.

Peace is quickly restored with the explosion ridding itself out, leaving a gray cloud of smoke hovering in the air. From it, two figures emerge, of Goku descending towards his friends with an unconscious and battered Vegeta placed over his shoulder.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Piccolo shoots the smirking Goku a look of barely contained anger and annoyance. "You really are a piece of work."

"Huh?" Goku gives the Namekian a confused look. "What do ya mean? I stopped the attack right before AAGH!"

An uppercut to his groin courtesy of King Kai sends the Super Saiyan plummeting to his knees, reverting him back to his regular form. "W-why...?"

"Why?!" King Kai repeats, taking hold of Goku's hair spikes on both ends and pulling the Saiyan down to his eye level. "You almost destroy the Check-In Station, nearly sending the universe itself into spiraling black hole of chaos AND do who knows what to my planet and you're asking me why I'm mad?!"

"B-but we didn't break much OOOWWW!" A punch upside his head sends Goku yelping in pain, almost bringing him to tears as more of them keep on coming.

"It's not about how much you broke! It's the principle behind it! Showing your complete lack of respect of beings above your station!"

"D-dad?"

A familiar voice from behind to nearly everyone gets their attention. They all turn around to find Fortuneteller Baba smirking on her ever present, floating crystal ball and with a stunned Gohan with a backpack hanging off his shoulder observing the sight before him. With tears of joy swelling in his eyes, the boy takes off into the air and practically smashes into his father's chest, knocking King Kai away and causing the unconscious Vegeta to fall face first onto the concrete floor with a loud thud.

"Hi, champ!" Goku giggles in his usual child-like way, his arms going around the boy's whole body, pulling him into a tight hug when he notices the backpack. "Did Chi-Chi make ya promise to study?"

"Huh?" He pulls back, noticing the zipper of his backpack open, revealing a large set of study books inside. Feeling a little embarrassed, Gohan shakes his head with a chuckle. "Actually... It was my idea to bring them along... " He avers his father's gaze for a moment. "That's not a problem... Is it?"

"Of course not!" Goku pats him on the head. "Just as long as it doesn't distract ya from training!"

"Still, something to help him occasionally relax won't be a bad thing," Piccolo chimes in, placing his head onto the boys head with a smile. "Your mom give you any grief over doing this?"

"Actually, she encouraged me to go, even if..." His voice falters for a bit before returning to normal. "Even if she wasn't crazy about another one of us leaving her. Especially under these circumstances."

"Hey, don't worry," Goku kneels next to him, his usually smirk ever present. "You'll be back home in no time, Chi-Chi'll never even notice you're gone!"

"Still, I get why she'd worry," He glances at the halos hovering above the heads of Piccolo, Krillin, Kami, and Tien. "I'm really sorry this happened to you all."

"Ah, this is nothing!" Says Krillin with a laugh. "Die as many times as I have and you won't even notice the difference anymore."

"Yeah," His mood lightens up a bit, his lips twisting into a small smile. "Chiaotzu and Yamcha said something along those lines." The half-Saiyan looks at the aforementioned Crane and Turtle students friends. "They also promised to do all they can to protect the planet while we're gone and keep everyone at the Lookout safe!"

Both Krillin and Tien smile proudly with the latter stating. "I don't doubt that for a minute."

"So this is Gohan," A newly composed King Kai walks up to the boy, smiling at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my boy, your fathers told me a lot about you!"

"Son," He gestures towards the blue deity to his side. "This is my master King Kai, say hi!"

"K-king Kai?" The boy repeats and immediately feels embarrassed for knocking him to the ground. Remembering the manners hammered into him by his mother, he turns towards the deity and respectfully bows before him. "Its a pleasure to meet you Mister Kai, sir!"

"Such a well-mannered young man," King Kai comments. "Mind teaching giving your father here some help with that?" He playfully jabs the boys arm with his elbow. "He could use a few pointers when it comes to common courtesy."

"He certainly could." Fortuneteller Baba comments from afar.

"Oh, hey!" Goku remembers the elderly woman floating nearby, smiling warmly at her. "How ya doin' Portion-Seller Baba?"

"It's Fortuneteller Baba!" She yells back at the Saiyan with a vein popping out of the side of her head. "If you can't remember my name then don't ask for my help next time you've got a mess to clean up! Humph!"

"B-but I was just-" Not bothering to hear him out, the woman simply floats away, vanishing into thin air as her magic brings her back to Earth. "I was just kiddin'... Man, everyone's so grouchy today."

"Can't say I blame her given everything that's happened recently." Tien admits, not feeling in the mood for jokes himself either.

"Uh, guys," Krillin speaks up, kneeling next to unconscious Vegeta and getting everyone's attention. "We should probably do something for him."

"Should I give him a Senzu?" Gohan asks, taking a pouch of them out. "Korin gave me a bunch before sending me off."

"A piece'll do fine," Says Goku. "That'll get him back on his feet pronto."

Nodding at his father, Gohan takes one of the few beans out, snapping a third of it off at the end. "Vegeta!" He pushes the Saiyan Prince a few times, earning a responsive moan from him as he opens his eyes. "Eat this, it'll fix you up."

Recognizing the thing in the boy's hand as a piece of the same Earth food responsible for instantly healing him following the savage beating of Recoome, Vegeta opens his mouth without protest and promptly swallows it. As usual, the beans work their magic almost instantly with Vegeta's previously drained body and energy reserves restored completely.

Getting back on his feet, Vegeta takes a moment to flex the muscles of his body with no pain registering anywhere despite several bloody marks still present. The others observe him, silently waiting for an angry outburst or proclamation that the score with Goku still isn't settled. Instead, he merely crosses his arms and states without turning to face them. "Let's go."

Exchanging surprised looks in utter silence for a bit too long for his liking, Vegeta turns around and glares at them. "I said move! I've got training to do and delays won't be tolerated!"

"So, you're stickin' to the deal Vegeta? That's great!" Laughing, Goku walks forward to give him a friendly pat on the back only for his arm to get swatted away.

"I already said I'd do it if you won!" The Saiyan Prince growls. "You've won this round so I'll keep my word, especially since it'll allow me to crush you next time!"

"So... Grouchy..." Goku repeats when both his and Vegeta's clothing glows for a split second and is magically repaired. "Oh yeah!" He turns towards his master, giving him a thumbs up. "Thanks, King Kai!"

"Well, I can't have arriving at one of the most prestigious worlds in existence looking like slobs now can I?"

"I guess not," Goku rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Although, we're gonna mess it them up real fast anyhow..."

"Can we **please** get on with this?!" Vegeta urges through clenched teeth.

"Sure thing!" Goku goes to press two fingers onto his forehead only to be stopped by King Kai. "Huh?"

"A little flight will do us some good," He eyes the rest of the room with suspicion and telepathically contacts his pupil. _Besides, There are some things I want to go over._

Even the airheaded Goku knows what his master means by that. "Sure thing! Lead the way King Kai!" The Saiyan allows the deity to take point and with that, the entire group powers up and leaves the station, flying into the seemingly empty vastness of the underworld with their white auras streaking through the air.

"Finally, I can get some actual work done," King Yemma sighs though he can't fully relax, not after what King Kai dropped on him. _Let's hope their faith in you all isn't misplaced..._

* * *

 _I think we're far enough away now._ King Kai telepathically states to everyone. _Still, just to be on the safe side, let's leave any and all conversations on here from now on._ _Goku, you take point and show everyone the way while I catch them up._

 _Got it!_ He flies at the front of their group with King Kai taking a position in the middle.

 _Catch us up on what?_ Gohan asks.

 _On the real reason, we're coming to train here,_ Piccolo states matter of factly. _Some great adversary more terrible than even Freeza._

 _Is that even possible?_ Krillin wonders hesitantly. _I mean, Freeza was pretty bad, it can't get much worse than him, right?_

 _I'm afraid it can Krillin._ King Kai responds with a heavy heart. _Freeza's death has stirred something or rather someone skulking in the dark shadows of the universe. A conniving little creature who's magical prowess may doom us all should his plans succeed._

 _If this adversary you're terrified of is as terrible as you say, then why hasn't anyone heard of him?_ Vegeta asks with his doubt of these claims obvious to all.

 _Given the fact he's been sealed for millions of years by now I very much doubt anyone not just as old would remember him. Even I have only heard of him through stories and legends passed down from Kai to Kai. That is until I was allowed to witness the creature and its master for myself._ The deity concentrates a bit harder with his telepathic link. _But as the old saying goes, better to show than to tell._

Suddenly the vast horizon of Other World and the clouds separating the upper section of the upper realms from the lower regions of Hell and the Demonic domain are engulfed by a shadow with nothing but the flying warriors of Earth and King Kai floating in the middle. Suddenly, the image shifts to a war-torn planet many, many lightyears away and several more times farther into the distant past of the Seventh Universe.

For everyone observing the landscape, they find disturbing similarities between this world and the state of Amenbo Island. Buildings tilting at angles they were never meant to go at, corpses littering the broken streets and hundreds of fires breaking out all over. As they survey the destroyed landscape, two distinct figures stand out and the mental projection shifts to give everyone a better view. Both equally short in stature yet distinct in every other way.

 _The green little creep smiling at his pets destruction is the wizard known as Bibidi._ King Kai's points out. _A powerful sorcerer who's nefarious abilities in the art of sorcery more than made up for his insignificant physical prowess. His finest creation is the other one._

He focuses on the creature in question. A pink skinned being with the appearance of a child standing atop the ruins surrounding him, revealing fanged teeth which coupled with his blood red eyes and pitch black sclera sends a shiver down everyone's neck, even Vegeta. Without warning or reason, the creature raises his hand and unleashes a barrage of ki blasts right into the heavens before they all split apart into thousands of separate directions. Each and every one of them cutting into a survivor.

It doesn't matter if they're running or hiding beneath buildings, underwater or the sky. it doesn't matter if they're man or woman, adult or child, the beams spread across the entire planet, find their designated targets and kill them all with equal ruthless efficiency. A display made only more chilling by the creatures cackling laughter at the whole ordeal.

 _And that... Is Majin Boo..._ King Kai gulps even at the mental projection of him. _Make no judgments based on his size, the power he possesses outstrips anything from the mortal world or the realm of the deities. With a simple shout, he was able to break a hole through the barrier of dimensions itself and invade the homeworld of the Kai's, nearly slaughtering them all before being sealed._

 _B-but that's impossible!_ Kami interjects. _Nothing can possibly be capable of such an act! Not even this creature!_

 _And yet he did..._ The projection shifts to another world, one vastly different from the desolate ruin of before. A lush, planet with green planes and fields very much resembling the ones on Earth with lakes and waterfalls consisting of crystal clear water of varying sizes scattered across its landscape. As before, the projection shifts focus to a group of beings inhabiting the planet.

From afar, the observing Earth fighters almost mistake them for humans, yet their pointed ears, differing skin colors and strange haircuts quickly prove this is not the case. _These were my ancestors, the Supreme Kai's. The highest of our species hierarchy, the ones responsible for breathing life into the four galaxies comprising our universe. Now..._ He sighs. Only _one of them remains..._

 _What happened to them?_ Gohan inquiries, finding this journey into history enamoring despite the circumstances behind and around it. His hunch proves correct when a blood-curdling scream suddenly reverberates through the air. Like glass, a truck-sized section in the air breaks apart at the zenith of the screaming, revealing the window to yet another destroyed world on the other side of the portal.

The Supreme Kai's of old converge on the newly formed gateway, entering their combat stances as Majin Boo and his cackling master Bibidi float through it, the portal between dimensions shrinking and eventually fading into nothingness behind them. Just as King Kai told them, a slaughter quickly follows. Regardless of the type of attack, be it energy or physical based, the cackling pink blob merely takes every heat, regenerating instantly without a hint of fatigue or anything resembling limitations holding him back as all of the Kai's are beaten, vaporized or swallowed whole by the creature. Save for one.

_The one left you see before you is the current Supreme Kai of all four quadrants of our Universe. He is the one who's been hunting the last surviving son of Bibidi, an equally vile being known as Babidi. He's the only one capable of awakening Majin Boo and he's spent millions of years trying to do so._

_Hold on,_ Tien speaks up. _I thought you want us to train because Majin Boo is already awake or at least, close to it?_

 _If he was already loose, we wouldn't be having this conversation I assure you._ King Kai lets out a deep breath, releasing them all from the projection, revealing two nearby planets on the horizon. One bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Earth as its seen from space while another consists of a single, massive continent surrounded by oceans with white buildings, roads, pillars and what appears to be a stadium floating in the sky with an island of its own.

_Hearing of a warrior who's powers dwarf Freeza, Babidi agents have been spotted during the Supreme Kai's searches across multiple worlds. All of them searching for this powerful warrior to drain him of energy with which to revive Boo._

_Why not simply drain Freeza and get it over with?_ Asks Piccolo.

 _As a matter of fact he did,_ King Kai notices Vegeta's eyes on him. _Well over two centuries ago, when Freeza was young and his Empire was in its infancy, Babidi tried to drain him over energy. Needless to say, the attempt failed and Babidi himself barely escaped with his life once Supreme Kai arrived at the scene. Goku's notoriety has obviously caught Babidi's eye, for the power of a strong, evil being is required to unleash Majin Boo._

 _Evil?_ Krillin laughs at the thought. _Goku's airheaded and maybe he lets his love for fighting get the better of him but he's nowhere near what I'd classify as evil. Where'd they even get an idea like that?_

 _You can thank Vegeta here for it,_ The deity tilts his head in the Princes direction. _He's the one who kept telling the survivors of his little space raids during Goku's year on Yadrat of an almighty Super Saiyan warrior who defeated Freeza. Given the Saiyan's already infamous reputation, it's easy to see why Goku would get begged as another one._

 _Which will lead this Babidi to Earth sooner or later,_ Piccolo concludes as the pieces connect in his head. _Babidi is sure to find out about the Earth sooner or later, and with those two kids running around, he'll have who knows how much power at his disposal to revive Majin Boo!_

King Kai gives him an affirmative nod. _An especially problematic situation since no one, not even I can determine the power of those two. They may only be twice as strong as Goku or a hundred times, which is precisely why you will all have to spend the coming days or weeks or however long we have to train as hard as humanly possible. Err, I meant as hard as you can, regardless of species. Who knows, with any luck, you all might get enough time to enter the upcoming tournament._

Tien, Piccolo, and Vegeta all look at the Kai, the mention of a tournament peaking their interest. The two worlds come closer into view, now merely a couple of minutes of flying away. "But we'll have plenty of time to explain that should the need arise," King Kai breaks his mental connection with them all. "For the time being, I'll let you all get acclimated to living on Grand Kai's, I imagine you're all fairly tired after everything that's happened today."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Goku turns looks back to King Kai. "Can I just make a quick trip with Gohan to Heaven? There's someone there I'd really like him to meet!"

"Knock yourself out, just remember to get back here in a couple of hours, alright?"

"Sure thing," He gives his master a thumbs up before gesturing to his son flying way at the back of the group. "Follow me Gohan!" He flies off towards the other, more Earth-like planet nearby Grand Kai's.

A puzzled Gohan follows his father's energy and prepares to leave the group as well when he remembers something. "Oh! Hey, Vegeta!" He turns to the Prince, greeted only with a scowling sideways glance from him. Digging into his pockets, he takes out a capsule. "Catch!"

Doing so, Vegeta raises his eyebrow at it. "What's this supposed to be?"

"The Gravity Machine you've been using to train!" The boy explains. "Bulma told me to give it to you so you can keep up with your training." He almost leaves again upon remembering something else from the worlds greatest scientific mind. "Oh, she also said if your nasty temper gets you sent to Hell, she'll personally come over there and make you regret it. So be on your best behavior!"

Equally curious to catch up to his father as he is to get far away from a possible outburst from the Prince, Gohan flies towards the planet Goku, leaving the group as they near Grand Kai's world.

To the surprise of everyone present, Vegeta merely deepens the scowl without an outburst and examines the capsule in his hand once again as he allows himself a small smirk. _Make me regret it eh? Somehow I don't doubt it..._ Just as quickly, he returns to his usual expression of mixed sterness and disdain, placing the capsule into his pocket.

To the Prince's left, Tien looks at the planet where Goku and Gohan headed. "Any ideas who Goku wants to introduce so badly?"

Krillin slyly smiles. "Oh I think I've got a pretty good idea who he means."

* * *

"Wow, so this is Heaven?" A breathless Gohan stares at the endless fields of green fields littered with the finest and most beautiful flowers and trees from every single world to have ever existed. Some so familiar they could be mistaken for ones from Earth while others are so alien and seemingly sentient enough to run a small, makeshift card game with the thousands upon thousands of souls from countless species inhabiting the planet. "I never thought I'd come here..."

"Really? I always figured you'd get here for sure!" He playfully jabs his son with his elbow. "Doing some bad things behind Chi-Chi's back...?"

Gohan blushes at his poor wording, shaking his head. "No, I just didn't think I'd get here so young... Or well... Still alive..."

"Goku!" A woman's voice catches their attention and the two turn around to find a red haired mermaid with leaf colored eyes and skin a few shades lighter than her hair. Though Gohan only guesses she's a mermaid thank to the remainder of the upper section of her original, scaly tail being engulfed by the white one every inhabitant of Heaven has. "He did it again!"

"Oh no," Goku lowers his head in a manner eerily similar to how Chi-Chi reacted whenever he did something she didn't approve of. "Look Cienna, I'm real sorry-"

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" She points an accusing finger towards him, sending the Saiyan warrior reeling back defensively, another thing which reminds the silent, observing Gohan of his mother. "That old pervert needs to learn how to respect other people's privacy already!"

"I know, I know!" Goku promises like a child being scolded. "I'll make extra sure he listens to me this time, promise!"

"Hmph, I've heard that before," She pulls the finger back, getting a somewhat relieved sigh out of Goku when she notices the boy to his side and his odd lack of a halo. "And who might this be?"

"Oh!" Goku nudges Gohan to move in-between them. "This here's my boy Gohan! Say hello to the nice lady son!"

"Hello, miss Cienna!" He bows his head to her. "It's very nice to meet you!"

"What a nice young man!" She rubs Gohan on the head, her previous anger all but vanishing in the process. "Its hard to believe you and that old creep have the same name!"

Gohan raises his head, giving her a puzzled look. _The same name-_

"Don't give my son grief, Cienna!" An old yet energetic voice proclaims from above with its owner descending from the sky following a mighty leap lands next to the mermaid. Wearing a cap similar to Chiaotzu's and clad in a black and orange attire, the old man with a bushy mustaches glares at the mermaid. "Just because you can't appreciate a man's romantic gestures doesn't mean you get to take it out on his kid!"

"Spying on me while I take a bath isn't a romantic gesture!"

"Like you need to shower at all! We're dead, remember?!"

"Guys, guys!" Goku appears in-between them just as they're about to claw at each other like a pair of furious street cats. "C'mon! Don't do this now, I had a whole big surprise ready for both Gohan's and everything!"

"Both Gohan's?" The older spirit repeats and with a turn of his head finally notices the boy staring at the whole ordeal with a confusion that could rival his father's at his most airheaded moments. Instantly, his anger vanishes as he, with a single look, immediately notices the resemblance.

Walking away from the two of them, the old spirit puts on a smile he reserved only for his happiest moments with Goku and kneels before the half-Saiyan standing before him. "You don't know who I am, do you?" He inquires with Gohan shaking his head, earning a chuckle out of him. "I didn't think so, Goku and I don't have any pictures from when he was growing up so I can't blame you for not recognizing me."

At that moment, something clicks in the young Gohan's head as he remembers all the times he asked his father about where his name came from and the descriptions behind his looks and personality. In a silent shock, he stares at the old spirit as he extends a welcoming hand towards him.

"My name's Gohan," He leans in a bit closer to whipser. "And don't let this fool you, I'm nowhere near as bad as Roshi!"


	8. New World Order

There is nothing quite like the roar of a cheering crowd. That blinding explosion of noise assaulting your every senses born from the cheers of hundreds of thousands of people. All ecstatic, all full of energy and a euphoria that overwhelms even the most jaded of people. Worries, either bigger or smaller ones, all wash away in the storm of such a gathering, letting everyone forget their problems for a little bit and take part in something grand, something bombastic.

No one needs his worries to get lost in the storm more than Mark, or Mr. Satan as the public knows him, as stands in the hallway just ahead of said crowd.

The situation is dire for everyone all around. Ever since the initial attack on Amenbo Island one week ago, the two people responsible for it haven't relented in their attacks. Villages and smaller cities once housing people were now nothing but smoldering ruins in their wake. The military tried and failed to stop this rampage and ended up in just as bad of a shape as the cities they attempted to avenge.

He was preparing to move himself and his daughter somewhere safe when the King of the Earth called him, urging the world's strongest man to step up and save the world. Just as he does now on the eve of what is his last fight, Mark knew he didn't stand a chance. He saw the footage of the two teenagers bringing down civilization as they knew it with feats of power he only heard from Tenkaichi legends.

Given his reputation, the king probably thought Mark was another one of those legends. He almost told him no when he noticed the look Videl was giving him, a look of faith and pride in her father she gifted him with whenever he won a battle. If there was any person in the world who truly believed he could win, it was her and if he ran away like a coward, she would get hurt the most by it. At least this way, he has a chance to do something that might matter, even if it's just being a martyr.

The things fathers do for their kids. Thankfully, Videl is somewhere else now, safe and far, far away from him. Even if her many protests regarding the arrangement showed she wants to be here with him.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He hears the announcer yell from the middle of the balcony of the building. "We thank you for your patience and for the support you've shown to this historic moment in time!"

Somehow, they crowd gets even louder.

"The man of the hour, our future savior of the world, Mister Satan-" They positively explode with the mention of his name. "Will bid us farewell from this place and journey to the arena where he's issued a challenge to the two terrorists attacking our home! There, on live television, he will meet the two attackers and bring them to jjjjusssstttttiiiccccccceeeeeee!"

One sliver of relief he finds with the whole situation is how he won't fight them here. His business and advertising partners tried to convince him to fight in the city with a live public to view the whole thing. He firmly said no and arranged for a makeshift arena made out in the wastelands. This way, he can get himself killed without dragging anyone else into it. Hell, he wishes this whole event wasn't happening.

"But let's not drag this out anymore! We all know who you really want to see!"

With a loud sigh, Mark puts his best smile on and lets the fears of reality get overrun by the theatrics of fantasy. He spreads his arms out to the gathered people, accepting their outstretched hands, flowers, gifts, praises and even a handful of kisses as he soaks it all in as he usually does whenever he needs to put on a good show. In the spur of the movement, he turns around to face the balcony and gestures towards the announcer, pointing at his microphone. The man obliges with a smile, tossing the device through the air with Mark catching it easily.

Clearing his throat, he booms into the microphone, "How's everyone doing?"As expected, they explode with renewed energy, assaulting his ears with enough force that for a second he thinks he's gone death. He shrugs it off.

"What was that?" He asks the crowd. "I didn't catch that!"

They yell even harder, this time, chanting his name as if it were some magical word that could cure any problem in the whole world. He can't help but smile with true enthusiasm at it all as he scanned the crowd. He sees faces young and old, both man and beast, all fixed on him. In spite of the dire situation, Mark finds himself quickly caught up in the madness of it all. A great deal of his enjoyment of martial arts comes from the attention it got him, some even accused him of being an attention seeking fraud.

On any other day he'd challenge someone to tell that to his face, but on what's probably his last day on Earth, he didn't feel like lying to himself. Even if he was lying to everyone else.

"I can't express how much it means to me that you're all here!" He admits, even if he thinks they're better off hiding in their homes or running for the hills. "How, even with so many bad things happening in the world these days, you've managed to stay positive and sure of our victory!"

He lets them go another round of cheering before continuing.

"And you can be sure of that last part: victory. We are going to win today, not just me, but all of us! We're all going to go in there and beat these punks up real good! We're gonna make them regret the day they ever stirred up trouble! FOR EVERYONE THEY'VE HURT, THEY'LL GET A HUNDRED OF MY SATAN PUNCHES!"

Mark launches his fist into the air for extra effect, sending the crowd berzerk. He takes one last look at the gathered people and finds an odd sense of calm wash over him in the midst of such a spectacle. The kind of calm he hasn't felt since the match which landed him the position of World Martial Arts Champion. Dropping the microphone, he walks down the red carpet towards the car waiting for him, letting his mind drift to his little girl no doubt watching him right now.

He knows she won't understand why he'll lose, not today anyhow. But if he dies on his feet, he'll at least show people not to let these punk kids walk all over them. Like a comic book character from his youth once said, the bad guys never win so long as even one man's willing to stand up to them. And people are nothing if not clever and resilient, they'll find a way.

"That was quite a speech!" A loud voice says from above him and the rest of the crowd, prompting everyone to look up. Immediately, he regrets doing so. For the source of the voice is the male of the destructive duo, sending his voice through a loud speaker as he floats in the air. His partner, and probably sister with their resemblance hovers next to him holding a black bag in her hand.

The crowd falls eerily silent as they slowly descend onto the red carpet. The praise of the men, the flirtations of the women and the plethora flowers and gifts yet thrown all stop dead. They only thing left from them is a collective expression of utter dread. It takes all the self-control and acting prowess Mark has to avoid putting on the same face. Instead, he smirks and stands tall as if he actually has a chance.

"What?" The boy asks, eyeing the crowd. "Where's all that bravado gone to now?"

"They're saving it for when I win," Mark says confidently while mentally cursing himself. "Can't have my adoring public tire themselves out before the victory party even starts."

"Oh there's gonna be a party all right," The boy replies with a smirk. "But I get the feeling only the two of us are gonna have a good time in it."

"Ho ho ho," Mark taunts as he approaches them as if they can't snap his head clean off. "Those are some big words kid, why don't you and I step into my ring and see who's right?"

"Yyyeeeaaahhhhh, we'll pass," The boy puts his hand around Mark, instantly making them man as stiff as a statue. "Y' see, my sister and I don't like to follow rules, never have and never will. It's kind of our thing. So we're not gonna do what you want us to because we need a good, live audience for what we've got to say. As a showman, you understand that, right?"

Before Mark can say or do anything, the boy headbutts Mark right in the face, shattering his nose and sending him groaning towards the ground. The crowd gasps as he nearly faints from the attack, its speed, and force, unlike anything he's dealt with thus far. Even the attacks from Mercenary Tao are nothing in comparison to this. Mark hears the cries of shock and horror from the people as they see him fall so easily.

"Now, now, don't run start running away already," The girl speaks up with a cold, monotone voice which somehow matches the cold cruelty of the boy's laidback manner. Mark recovers enough of his vision to see her launch something resembling lasers from her palm into the air. The beams break apart in the air and explode all around the crowds gathering place, making sure everyone stays put.

Rising to his feet, Mark tries to launch a punch at the girl only to find his arm caught by her partner. The champion hears the boy chuckle before he casually twists his arm into a direction the human arm is never meant to bend in, breaking it with a closed fracture. His last attack comes to Mark's chest, breaking a couple of his ribs and knocking the wind out of him.

This isn't how its supposed to be... Is all Mark can think of as he lies on the carpet with the gathered crowd and the people of Earth all watching him. He had a plan in motion for the arena, he purposefully paid people to sabotage the various cameras in the middle of the battle so he could fight the two of them. Instead of dying like a dog as he is now, he would die in some unseen, heroic way with other paid off men and women spreading word of his great last stand.

Now? Everyone knows he's worthless, a fraud, not some great hero to join legends like Son Goku or Jackie Chun, just a chump who knows how to pass himself off as something he's not. Even his daughter, that hurts him more than anything. More so than the foot driving into his already hurting chest.

"Now that we have your undivided attention!" The boy says into Mark's discarded microphone, all around him, people and cameras broadcasting the ordeal lock onto him with the same fixation they did for their champion mere moments ago. Except now, the euphoria is replaced with silent terror. "We want to set some ground rules for everyone!"

"And when he says everyone," The girl speaks through the loudspeaker. "He means everyone in the whole world."

"Since we've crushed all your best fighters, including this chump right here," The boy drives his foot just an inch deeper, earning a pained, bloody gasp of air from Mark. "That makes us the strongest people by default! And as we're the strongest people, that means we say how things work around here. And rest assured, there are changes coming, effective immediately."

"For those of you who don't know," The girl continues for him. "There was this guy called King Piccolo who showed up a few years back. Tall as a building, green skinned, fanged teeth, and guy who could blow a whole city up with a flick of his wrist. The best kind of guy you could ask for."

"When King Piccolo took over, he set some ground rules for everyone to follow now that he was the boss!" The boy stops, eyeing the crowd and soaking in their dreadful anticipation. "There are no rules!"

He lets the declaration sink into everyone with a few moments of silence.

"That's right ladies and gentlemen!" The girl speaks up again. "Everything resembling order or government is going the way of the Martial Arts Tournament's credibility. This means no more cops,"

"Or hospitals,"

"Or schools,"

"Post office,"

"And most importantly," The girls says while locking eyes with her brother. "No more DMV!"

Another moment of silence passes.

"That's right folks!" The boy proclaims. "If you want to steal that TV you could never afford, go for it!"

"Want kick your neighbor's dog for barking at night?" The girl fake asks the crowd. "Bash the muts head in with a brick!"

"Hate your boss? Run the bastard over!"

"You can steal, murder, injure, destroy and debauch all you want!" She counts down. "And no one will stop you!"

"But be warned," The boy raises a single finger, waggling it in the air like some demented parent scolding his children. "That applies to everyone, including us. So, let's say I want some awesome sports car but I find a gang of you driving it. Naturally, if you guys can kill one another for the car, I can do the same to you."

"Or if you happen to be after someone's who's pissed us off," The girl says. "We'll take you out without a second thought."

"And in-case you're thinking that the King and his army are going to come in and save the day," He smiles wickedly, "Think again, sis! Would you do the honors?"

"It would be my pleasure," She reaches into the bag and from it, chucks a bloody, hairy piece of flesh next to Mark's face. The wounded fighter with his head still spinning and his body aching takes a minute to turn his head. He wishes he didn't. For he finds the Kings severed head looking back at him with dead, white eyes.

Horrified screams and curses explode from the crowd when the boy takes it into his hand and holds it up for all of the world to see.

"Your King is dead!" The boy proclaims proudly. "Your armies are gone! So, I suggest you all give up on the idea of him saving you and get with the program!"

"In-fact," The girl interjects. "We're feeling so generous today, we're going to give everyone here a special present to kick things off."

"Indeed we are sis," He confirms with a nod. "You've got a five-minute head start to get out of this town if you don't? You'll get wiped out same as all the other places we've been to, so I suggest you stop gawking at us and haul ass like you've never hauled before!"

When the crowd continues to stare at them, Mark notices them both slump.

"Try to be nice and this is what it gets you," He mutters before he and his sister unleash another barrage of lasers from their hands, this time, aimed straight at the crowd. Explosions go off all around him, accompanied by the screams of terror and the thudding of feet against the ground as everyone runs for their lives to whatever direction feels safest: any place but here.

As he lies there, bleeding and beaten, Mark finds his thoughts wander back to his daughter, at least she's safe somewhere they couldn't hurt her. Just as he's about to drift off into the land of sleep, he feels something fast and metallic smack him back into consciousness.

"Now, now," The boy warns. "Don't die on me yet big guy, we've got plans for you."

Already feeling like a colossal failure and a dead man, Mark uses his accumulated blood and spits on the boy's face, earning an amused chuckle from him.

"I'm gonna let that one slide," He wipes the blood from his cheek. "You're clearly not feeling well so I can't exactly punish you for impaired judgment. This time, at least."

"You can't do anything to me anyway..." Marks coughs out. "I'm already dead."

"For the sake of your daughter, I hope you don't mean that," The boy warns, instantly sending a jolt of adrenaline through marks entire system. "Cause if you croak on us now, there's not gonna be much reason for not to pop her head like a zit."

Clenching his fists, Mark tries to push himself up only to get sent reeling back thanks to the boot still pinning him down. "Don't you dare hurt my-"

"Do what you do best and we won't," The girls spoke as she walks up to them.

"What I do... best...?"

"C'mon champ!" The boy gently slaps him on the face. "You know what you are! You're an actor! A showman! The guy who can put a smile on anyone's face when he puts his mind to it! We're gonna need someone to cheer us up when we come home after some fun after all."

"H-Home?"

"Course," He confirms with a nod, finally removing his boot from Satan's chest. "Your home is our home now and we've always wanted a big ass mansion to crash in."

"Plus, we'll need someone to keep the place clean when we're not around." The girl concludes with the same cocky smirk as her brother. Mark says nothing, instead, he merely stares into the sky as he's picked off the ground and sent somewhere against his will. As he dangles in the air like the useless piece of trash that he is, he can still see the droves of people scatter into the forests and wastelands surrounding the city.

He thought he could do something noble with all his bravado and showmanship. Give people some sort of rallying point to fight these two, instead, he's the key figure of a different type of message: your best isn't good enough and never will be.

* * *

 

**One of the reasons for why this took so, so very long is because of my fading enthusiasm for Dragon Ball and the fact I REALLY had trouble figuring out how to write this chapter. Do I make Satan an oblivious moron? Or a guy pretending to be full of shit but actually understanding everything? Eventually, I settled on the later.**

**Some will take (rightful) issue with this while others won't. Satan is the kind of guy you can write both ways so I think both versions are equally valid. Next time, we're going back to the afterlife to have ourselves some more young Gohan shooting the shit with old Gohan and the others training.**


	9. The Proposal

"Thank you for inviting me here, Olibu," King Kai takes a sip of the hot tea brought by one of his oldest students. A fair skinned, muscle-bound man approaching the height of 2 and a half feet clad in white robes. The man's long, blonde hair waves in the air from the gentle breeze and a friendly smirk perpetually remains on his face.

The two met thousands of years ago, near the beginning of King Kai's tenure as overseer of the Northern Quadrant. Like all of the residents of Grand Kai's world, he earned his place there for his plethora of heroic acts ranging from defeating ancient beasts, bringing down three evil empires and even protecting early mankind from its first alien incursions. Succeeding in stopping nearly all of them, unfortunately, his last one involved a visit from the currently slumbering God of Destruction, Beerus.

Still, the fact it took a being such as a God of Destruction to bring him down continues to make him a highly respected warrior to this very day. Even if he's far from the most powerful.

They sit near one of the many ponds on the world made to serve as the final resting place for heroes such as Olibu, enjoying the view of the perpetual greenery around them and the scent of steaming tea.

"My pleasure, master," The warrior of Earth legends replies with the same tone of respect all of King Kai's address him with, even after they've long since surpassed him in strength and skill. Well, except one. "I noticed how little time you've spent training the newly arrived group of fighters and figured I could indulge in my love of fine tea with you for a while."

"With tea this good, I'll happily indulge you," The deity praises the beverage, mentally cursing himself for not being able to pry the secret behind it from his former pupil. "Although, I have to question why you're here, shouldn't you be teaching Tien and Krillin?"

"I've given the two of them some sparring duties, for the time being, it'll keep them busy a while longer," Olibu assures the deity. "Besides, you and I haven't spoken in many years, I think I can risk losing a couple of hours this way."

"Well, you know me," King Kai shrugs. "I've always liked my privacy at the end of Snake Way. Plus it keeps me away from my annoying brothers and sister."

"Enjoy the peace while it lasts," Olibu grins. "I've heard they'll arrive within the next couple of days if Maraikoh is to be believed."

King Kai groans loudly and painfully, dropping his head towards the ground. "Kill me," he asks his pupil, earning a hearty laugh from him.

"Gladly," Olibu gives him a friendly pat on the back. "But first, I'd like to speak with you about our latest additions," he pours more tea into his cup. "Quite an interesting group of characters I must say."

"Don't I know it," King Kai agrees, allowing Olibu to refill his cup as well. He knew the others would take notice of this new group of arrivals, not only because of their association with Goku, someone who immediately made a name for himself for his strength. They would want to know about two people, in particular, both of whom don't meet the criteria for being here for different reasons.

He has a sneaking suspicion he knows which of the two Olibu is going to talk about. "For such a group of people," King Kai take a sip from his drink. "You all gossip like old ladies."

"Information gather, King Kai," Olibu corrects with a smirk. "We learn the mysteries behind our opponents so as to better prepare for them."

"Whatever keeps your sensitive ego's intact," King Kai drily replies before deciding to get this part of their conversation over with. It likely won't be the first one he'll have on the subject. "Have they been causing trouble?"

"Nothing of the sort," Olibu shakes his head. "They've mostly stuck to their own little corners thus far. Tien and Krillin hang on my every word as though I were some god."

"Considering the legends they tell about you down there, it doesn't surprise me," King Kai cuts in.

"I haven't seen much of the one called Piccolo or his counterpart, Kami."

"Not surprising," King Kai states. "Kami isn't exactly in the best shape to train anymore, so he's chosen to remain with his people in Heaven. Piccolo's never been much for socializing and I doubt his new trainer's going to give him much time off in these early stages of practice."

"Fair enough," Olibu shrugs. "Goku and his boy have been training pretty extensively so far. He's quite strong for someone so young, being able to take on Goku in his un-transformed state is something a great many here can't do and they're far older than the boy."

King Kai hopes Gohan is the main subject of the conversation and opts to focus on him. "That must not be going over well with some people I imagine."

Olibu confirms with a nod. "Some of them, yes. To train for centuries here and then being outclassed by someone who's not even into his first full decade of life has made some of the fighters jealous, to say the least. Especially since he seems to be getting special treatment, being alive and all. Of course, they won't touch him with Goku around."

"Does it bother you, Olibu?" King Kai asks conversationally though he already knows the answer.

"A long time ago, it would have," Olibu admits with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "But I've long since made my peace about being inferior to aliens. Some species are clearly built for battle and since Goku is a Saiyan, it stands to reason his boy would inherit his prowess."

The deity sighs, his hopes of Gohan being the main subject dashed. "It's about Vegeta, isn't it?"

This time, Olbu's smile truly fades, replaced by an expression of concern as he looks his master in the eye. "I've heard stories about the man, very troubling stories."

He knew this would happen sooner rather than later. Gohan coming here, at such a young age and alive no less would cause a stir but something Goku's presence would make a non-issue. He's respected either willingly or begrudgingly by everyone in the afterlife. Earning the gratitude of many warriors here simply by virtue of killing Freeza, a man responsible for killing a great many of them and bringing their civilizations to ruin or extinction.

Gohan has also earned his place here by bravely defending him home and helping in the defeat of Freeza. Such a fact can not be argued with. Vegeta is an entirely different story.

"If what the others have said is true, this Vegeta has, until recently, worked under the tyrant Freeza," Olibu recounts the information he's gathered on the Saiyan Prince with a steely edge to his voice. "A great many people I've spoken to here, particularly from the last couple of decades, can personally attest to being killed by him in defense of their worlds. Worlds that are now likely gone."

King Kai says nothing, thankful for his glasses ability to hide his eyes in moments like these. He wishes he can tell Olibu everything, about the special mission they're training for and the necessity of bringing Vegeta here to train. Under any other circumstances, he'd let the Saiyan Prince get his proper judgment, now? He can't afford to. Having another Super Saiyan is simply too valuable of an asset for the battle to come.

"I can't tell you why I've let him come here," King Kai states flatly, finishing off the remains of his tea.

Olibu stares at him for a little while longer then leans back. "I know, master," The Earth legend tells with the utmost trust. "If you could, you'd tell me. I trust that you have a good reason for bending the rules like you have."

King Kai relaxes somewhat at the show of trust. He suspected Olibu would be the one to bring this up first. Perhaps as a consequence of losing his own children at one point, the man acts as a sort of father figure to many young warriors here, taking the time to intimately know them all. Even his rivals.

"But," Olibu speaks up again, the edge to his voice only dulled slightly. "I urge you to keep a close eye on this Vegeta. The stories I've heard about his past deeds are frankly appalling, and such a man being allowed to train here will inevitably cause trouble down the line."

"You're not telling me I haven't thought about already, Olibu," King Kai admits with a heavy sigh. "But I assure you, my reasons for bringing Vegeta here are justified."

"That's more than enough for me sir," The blonde legend reassures him. "But will it be enough for everyone else?"

"If they're so worried about Vegeta, tell them I've put Goku in-charge of him," King Kai states with not as much certainty as he feels he should've.

"Goku isn't exactly the most responsible of individuals," Olibu points out with a small smirk.

"No," King Kai admits. "But's already proven he's stronger between the two of them. And if Vegeta tries something that Goku can't stop, all I've got to do is send a message to King Yemma and he'll be purged in Hell before he knows what hit him."

"That will certainly help with easing tensions," Olibu admits though from the way he crosses his arms, King Kai knows it's not enough to calm him and probably quite a few other people down. "But I know some of these men and women, nothing short of vaporizing him will calm them down."

"Then let's hope they kept their grudges in check for the tournament," He suggests as a last resort. "That way, they can try to vaporize him and not get kicked out of here."

* * *

 _This isn't working,_ Vegeta ponders as he soars inside the gravity chamber, easily avoiding the myriad of drones darting around over and under him, assaulting him with a volley of laser blasts trying relentlessly to bring him down. They're no threat to him, even with 600 times the gravity of Earth, he avoids the attacks with just sheer instinct and reflexes, barely paying attention to them at all.

Initially, he thought the advantages of the afterlife would only prove beneficial. When he was alive, he needed the bare necessities of eating, drinking and sleeping to keep himself going. Now? He doesn't even have to breathe, not really, he simply does so out of habit more than anything else. Even the necessity for bathing or anything resembling personal hygiene is a non-issue. Even his energy reserves are far greater now than before, allowing him to theoretically keep practicing forever.

The problem? This stronger body has made him too strong, the gravity room isn't working like it when he was alive.

Its primary benefit is intended to be the strain it places on the person's body while it acclimates to the increased gravity. This stronger, dead body has a much higher ceiling of strain to reach, he's discovered. 600 times Earth's gravity would have presented a great challenge to him before without Super Saiyan, now? It's near useless. He doesn't even dare push it harder, the machine is already at its own limit on this level, going even further may cause it to explode as it once did before.

Vegeta winces at the memory of the first time it happened. He was already in poor physical shape when it happened and being caught in ground zero of the explosion didn't help matters. If Bulma wasn't at home when the incident occurred, he'd have been purged in Hell by now. Her assistance in bringing him back to health allowing him to get back to work on his training.

 _She has her uses,_ He admits, stopping in mid-air for an instant to look and receiving several blasts to his entire body as a result. Gritting his teeth at the irritating feeling, Vegeta prepares to blow the drones to pieces with a wave of his hand when he remembers he can't afford to. Without Bulma here, once they broke, who could fix them?

Instead, he avoids the following volley and with a simple tap of the button at the control console ends the whole exercise. The entire room shifts in response. Gone is the increased gravity and the red, foreboding hue covering it. The drones fall back into their respective slots in the walls, leaving Vegeta alone in silence. Once again her crossing his mind left him vulnerable to attack. First with Kakarot, now with these machines.

For the life of him, he can't understand why. She was useful to him, if often unpleasant to deal with in conversation when she got irritated. She even made a decent bedding partner and produced a powerful child for him. Trunks' arm throw alone from their first game together alone was something else, a sign of great potential. Potential which could rival that of Kakarot's brat.

Despite himself, he feels a great swell of pride at that memory and smirks. A smile which fades the instant he hears a familiar, obnoxious voice call out to him from the outside, accompanying it with a few taps on the windshield.

"Hey, Vegeta!" Kakarot calls out to him, waving his hand to catch the Prince's attention. "Can I come in? You don't like busy or anything."

With a long, agonizing sigh, the Prince nods and prepares himself for the fellow Saiyan's insufferable appearance. With that irritating ability of his, Kakarot pops in from thin air. "What do you want? I'm busy," He states with his usual growl though it doesn't convince its recipient given by his lack of reaction.

"Doesn't look like you are," Kakarot tilts his head to the left, inspecting the console from afar. "You're not even using the room."

"How I train is none of your concern Kakarot," Vegeta snaps, already feeling his temper swell. "Now tell me why you're here and leave, or just leave. Preferably the latter."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I can't leave," He replies with a somewhat serious tone to his voice. "Not without you, anyway."

Vegeta merely raises an eyebrow at him.

"See, I've been training with Gohan these past few days, helping him build up his strength and he's made some pretty good progress," He explains with a smirk. "I'd say he's almost at our level."

 _Already?_ Vegeta mentally exclaims, choosing to keep his reaction hidden from clown standing in front of him. Calming himself down, he supposes he shouldn't be so surprised. The boy has great potential, Vegeta counted on that coming to bear when they fought Freeza and he likely still has access to their ability to power up from near death injury, something the Prince has noticed has all but vanished for him and probably Kakarot as well. An after effect of becoming Super Saiyan's perhaps?

Then, like a blast to the chest, he figures out what Kakarot's true intentions are and can't hide his emotions this time around. "You're- you're trying to make the boy into a Super Saiyan?"

"Pretty much," Kakarot replies with a nod, saying it as if it's the most simple thing in the universe to do. "Why? You think he can't do it?"

"I know he can't do it," Vegeta crosses his arms and lets out an indignant snort. "It's impossible. The boy is a half-breed. A powerful one, yes, but still a half-breed, he can't possibly attain the power of the legendary Saiyan warrior."

"Didn't you all think no one could become a Super Saiyan for what? A hundred years?"

"A thousand," Vegeta corrects matter of factly. "And you and I are, as much as I loathe to categorize you with someone of my status, exceptions to the rule. Your brat may potentially have the power to rival a Super Saiyan one day but to become one? Don't be an even greater fool than you already are."

Kakarot smirks, not believing a single thing Vegeta's telling him. "Want to prove that?"

Vegeta narrows his eyes at him. "Prove it?"

"Sure," Kakarot nods again. "See, the trick to becoming a Super Saiyan for me was getting worked up over Freeza killing Krillin, you probably had to go through something similar, am I right?"

"Of course," He replies flatly, not intent on revealing the humiliating circumstances of the event. How a mere meteor storm managed to overwhelm him on some desolate planet, how his pent up anger and frustration made him burst into tears over his inability to catch up. A swell of raw, powerful emotions allowing him to unleash the power from within. Hardly the way he envisioned it happening.

"So, all we've got to do is work Gohan which shouldn't be hard since he's kind of got a short fuse already," Kakarot chuckles with the same idiotic grin on his face.

"We?" Vegeta all but laughs. "You want me to help you in this exercise in futility?"

"You're the perfect guy for the job," Kakarot proclaims, earning another raised eyebrow from Vegeta. "Even though you're on our side now, you're still kind of a terrifying guy, especially as a Super Saiyan. Gohan knows how dangerous you are from when we fought on Earth, so if you two went at like that again, he'll become a Super Saiyan in no time."

He can't fault him for his logic, most of it, at least. Vegeta knows the boy still fears him even after they cooperated against Freeza, and with his short temper, he could theoretically snap fast enough to become a Super Saiyan in the midst of a heated, desperate battle. Theoretically, of course, the Prince still doubts how possible this is given his diluted blood.

"And why should I help you," Vegeta inquires. "What's in it for me?"

"Well, we'd both get a strong sparring partner for one," Kakarot points out though Vegeta doesn't feel any more compelled to help him. He has no interest in training with any of them. He's advanced this far without help, well of the combative kind, he'll advance further still fine without them. "Plus, if you're right, you get the pleasure of rubbing it in my face."

Now **that** caught Vegeta's attention. It wouldn't be a great victory against the troublesome low-class Saiyan, not even close. But still, given all the grief Kakarot's given him these past few years, he can't help but feel intrigued by the possibility of putting him in his place. Reminding him that some Saiyan facts were cold hard facts, not breakable by anyone, not even Kakarot, and his son.

"Fine," Vegeta agrees with a smirk. "It'll be fun making a fool out of you when I prove he can't do it. It'll be a nice precursor to your inevitable defeat at my hands during the tournament. Just so you know," He points a finger right into Kakarot's face. "I won't hold back on him, so if the brat gets himself killed, it's on your head."

"That's fine," Kakarot replies with a cocky grin of his own. "Just don't get mad when proves you wrong."

* * *

**Aaaaaannndddddd Goku throws Gohan to the prince of the sharks! Potentially dangerous for the kids well-being? Well, Goku is kind of a bastard so yeah, I think he'd toss him into an exploding volcano if he thought it might get him to a level where he needs to be.**

**Next time, we'll see more of the two Gohan's hanging out and whether or not Vegeta is right or wrong concerning Gohan's Super Saiyan capabilities!**


	10. Cutting Loose

"Dad... Are you sure this is a good idea...?" Gohan stammers out to his parent, trying and failing to keep his trepidation from being too obvious.

He stands in one of the many, open training areas placed around Grand Kai's planet. A place where fighters from around time and space have trained individually or with others in heated sparring sessions to improve one another.

For the past few days since their arrival here, Gohan's partner for such activities was his father Goku, now standing to the side with his hands placed firmly on his belt. He's acting as a sort of referee for today's fight to make sure nothing particularly bad happens.

Just something particularly bad, given Gohan's opponent, he can't imagine this test going over smoothly for him. Not with Vegeta serving as his opponent.

The Saiyan Prince stands on the opposite end of the small arena in his usual stance. With crossed arms and a demeanor of haughtiness to him. Well, almost his usual look. A small, unnerving smirk graces the features of his face.

"What's wrong boy?" The Prince shouts from afar. "Don't have the stomach for combat unless you're a psychotic little lunatic'"

 _Kind of_ , Gohan admits to himself. All of his success' in battle thus far, which isn't saying much, are a result of rage induced strength increases. Not that he isn't a decent fighter without this ability, but he hardly feels half as confident in battle without it. Vegeta being his partner today diminishes his already meager opinion of himself.

For the life of him, the boy can't understand what his father is thinking with this.

"I know this is a little weird, Gohan," His father tells him warmly, trying his best to calm him down a bit. "But trust me, for the next part of your training, Vegeta's the perfect guy for the job."

"Assuming he can pull it off," The Prince interjects with indignation. "Which I seriously doubt."

Pull off what- Before he even finishes the thought, the answer pops into his head. "You're trying to make me into a Super Saiyan?" He trails off in disbelief.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't figure that out.." His father admits with an awkward laugh and rub of his neck.

"A foolish endeavor, as I've already told him," Vegeta shouts again with his smirk transforming into a full-on grin. "Your tainted blood has most certainly made it impossible for you to become one."

"Don't listen to him, Gohan," His father tries to reassure him. "Vegeta says a lot of things about what we I can or can't do. We've proven him wrong every time so far."

 _So far..._ Gohan worries.

"Plus," Goku continues. "I'm here to keep an eye on things. If Vegeta tries anything, I'll stop him."

Feeling a little better knowing that, Gohan manages a half-hearted smile and nod for his father. He's already proven his superiority to Vegeta in terms of strength, and with Instant Transmission, he can get Gohan out of any sticky situation in a split second.

"Alright guys, get ready to start," Goku announces, prompting both Gohan and Vegeta to enter their respective fighting stances. The former pushes his dominant leg forward while his other falls to an almost crouching position. Like his mentor, Gohan lets his fingers reach out into a claw-like manner.

Vegeta also spreads his legs evenly, placing his right arm to the side while his left reaches to his forehead. Closing half of his palm, he leaves the hand standing just in front of his face, covering half of it.

The two stare one another down, though Gohan's contribution to the little contest is more of him trying to keep a straight face on. Vegeta has no such problem, he's locked onto him like a beast ready to pounce at any moment.

Goku's eyes dart from one to the other, he slowly raises his right arm into the air and with a swift chopping motion brings it down.

"Begin!"

Instantaneously, the two fighters rush at one another, raising massive puffs of smoke from their white and blue aurae. Just ahead of locking fists, Gohan fires a simple pair of blasts into the ground, propelling himself just out of the reach of Vegeta's first punch.

Curling his small body into a ball, he spins in the air before unleashing his aura once more, rushing the Prince from behind with a kick aimed at the back of his skull. Vegeta blocks the kick and launches one of his own, missing thanks to the boy's use of his own smaller body. He darts around the blows, staying close to Vegeta and keeping him perpetually almost off balance.

A strategy which works for a short while until Vegeta unleashes his power outward with an explosion, putting some distance between himself and Gohan.

The boy gets his bearings just in time to intercept a volley of attacks sent his way by the smirking Saiyan. What little security he felt a moment ago quickly starts to drain away. Now, he falls back on his instincts, an effective enough strategy seeing as Vegeta's failed to land a single hit thus far.

"Impressive boy," Vegeta grunts between attacks. "Your father's right about this much, at least, you're almost a match for us like this. Almost."

A fist smashes into Gohan's nose, breaking his defense and leaving him open to a few more attacks of comparable speed and strength. He feels the blood rushing to his nostrils, along with his mouth and several scrapes quickly appearing all over his body from the Princes attacks.

As it usually goes when he finds himself backed into a corner, desperation quickly falls to the wayside in favor of anger. Gritting his teeth, Gohan lets his temper slip and soon, the barrage of blows becomes clearer with every passing moment.

What was once unseen becomes a blur, then what was once a blur, becomes clear images of clenched appendages coming to wreak havoc on his body. The boy catches one punch and promptly delivers one of his own, an uppercut to Vegeta's chin, drawing blood from the Saiyan.

Vegeta reels back for an instant too soon, his smirk fading as he finds himself in Gohan's previous position. Fueled by a bit of extra power coupled with his smaller body, Gohan manages to easily evade any strike Vegeta sends his way responds in kind with a strike of his own.

"It's a start but not good enough..." Gohan hears his father mutter nearby. "Vegeta! You're gonna have to take it up a notch!"

"Gladly!" The Prince responds before unleashing an animalistic roar, a burst of brilliant golden energy erupts from all over his body, covering it as he transforms into the warrior of Saiyan legend. His eyes turn blue and his black hair alters to fit the aura coursing through his body.

The rush of energy is enough to snap Gohan out of his small burst of anger, allowing Vegeta to finger flick him to the opposite end of the arena.

It hurts more than all of his previous blows combined and then some.

As he rubs his aching forehead, Gohan sees the smirk return to Vegeta's face as he wipes the blood away from his lip. "Now then," He cracks his knuckles. "Let's see who wins the bet!"

A kick to his chest sends Gohan kneeling onto the ground with a rush of blood spurting from his lips. The sound of Vegeta's chuckle irritates him enough to release another small increase, one that does little. For the Prince doesn't even bother blocking or avoiding his attacks, instead he stands there like an immovable object, letting Gohan bloody his knuckles against his body.

Another kick, this time to his chin, causes him to roll on the ground in pain in another fit of bloody coughing. The boy's headaches along with most of his body, he can barely keep his hands from shaking.

"Come on boy!" Vegeta taunts while slowly walking towards him. "Show me what you're made of so I can prove your clown of a father wrong!"

 _Is that how he got Vegeta to do this? Make some sick game out of this to make him agree to it?_ Gohan wonders with a renewed, stronger surge of rage quell inside of him. At Vegeta, and his dad.

"Gohan!" He hears his father yell. "Don't let go of your anger! Get mad! As mad as you can! That's the key to becoming a Super Saiyan!"

"Oh, I'm getting mad alright..." He whispers before blasting off towards Vegeta, the adrenaline pumping into his system allowing him to ignore his sustained injuries thus far.

This time, he manages to get Vegeta to intercept his attacks but none connect. He can tell even in such a rush that the Prince toys with him, the sick, playful spark in his eye speaks volumes about that.

Gohan doesn't let up, instead, he allows himself to cut loose as much as he can. The force of his blows increases enough to send shockwaves rippling through the air and ground. But none of this gets the intended effect, Vegeta still stands there, smirking.

Soon, the Prince tires of this and attacks once more, locking himself into a volley of punches and kicks of all kinds with the young, half-breed. Gohan manages to endure it initially, letting his increasing temper and energy to shrug off the blows.

But eventually, Vegeta regains dominance, for his increase is vast and fairly long last. Gohan's have always been fleeting and only somewhat impressive. The adrenaline wears down with each strike, for a bit, he managed to respond with every attack of Vegeta's with his own. Then one for every three, then five, and now? Ten.

He's sent flying through the air and into the ground, bloody and aching all over. His blue robes are in tatters and he can barely find the strength to even stand. He hasn't felt this tired and weak every since his last battle with Vegeta.

The boy hopes that this is enough. That this proves the Saiyan Prince right, he can't become a Super Saiyan. He'd gotten as mad as he could and it wasn't enough. Any second now, he expects his father to call it quits.

"That's it Vegeta!" Goku exclaims. "Now that he's desperate, he'll transform for sure! All he needs is one more push!"

"I hardly think so given his sorry state," Vegeta scoffs while raising an open palm towards the boy. "But have it your way, I'll indulge in this farce one last time."

Gohan tries to plead with his father but he finds himself too weak to speak. Too weak to even telepathically contact him, the dizziness and blood loss have taken their toll on him. He can barely even keep his eyes open enough to spot the ball of blue energy forming in Vegeta's palm.

"This is it brat!" Vegeta roars. "Whatever power you have left better come out now! You'll need it!"

Before he can even put a proper guard stance up or attempt to dodge, Vegeta unleashes the accumulated energy out in the form of a wave. A massive cascade of power barreling down towards the wounded boy with a soul-crushing size and force behind it.

Once more, he tries to plead with his father to stop this, knowing full well its useless for a multitude of reasons. The least of which is his inability to do so, the crux of the issue lies with the man himself: he wants this.

He knew this would happen, his own son beaten at the hands of a maniac like Vegeta, facing down death in one of the sorriest states of his life. A small, logical part of Gohan's plan tells him this is necessary, he needs the power of a Super Saiyan to help save the world.

But that little voice of reasons disappears gradually as he lets his frustrations at everyone flood his mind. He remembers his mother's pained expression and how terrible he felt when she told him to come here. He remembers the day his father passed away, never to return.

Now? His mother will die if he can't come back and save her. And his father now stands idly by as the insane architect of this plan. A plan that will most likely kill him.

Clenching his fists, Gohan feels a burst of power building up inside of him, stronger than anything he's ever felt but also strangely familiar. All the fatigue and battle damage thus far slip away as he finds himself rejuvenated in the storm of his raging mind. Replaced by something primal, and dangerous.

Deciding he has nothing left to lose, Gohan closes his eyes and lets that part of himself take over completely. Consequences be damned.

* * *

The explosion of raw power is almost defeaning to Vegeta, assaulting every one of his senses from sight, to sound to ki sensing as the golden pillar of light explodes into the air.

He tries to shield himself from the eruption, placing his hands in front of himself and powering up as much as he can to try and protect against it. He barely succeeds at it, as he slides in the opposite direction of the pillar, such is its force.

His attack is gone now, blown away by a far greater power than that of its creator. The power of another Super Saiyan. Were he not held back by the strength of the display, he'd chew the brat out for making a fool out of him once again. A recurring theme with himself and the members of Kakarot's clan.

The boy in question stands several feet away from him, his long black hair and eyes transformed into the distinct appearance of the legendary Super Saiyan. A massive aura, easily five times his own size pulsates all around him, raising cracks of rubble into the ground before exploding from discharges of energy.

That's not what unnerves the Saiyan Prince when he gets a better look at him, it's the boy's eyes. These weren't the eyes of that timid child weakened by half-breed emotions of politeness or even the mad stare from his tantrums.

This way the look of a man ready and perfectly willing to kill. Vegeta knows it well, he's practically made an art form of it.

For the first time while looking at him, despite his pride protesting at an even silent confirmation such as this, Vegeta feels genuinely afraid of him. A fear quickly justified when the boy brings him to his knees with a simple uppercut to the chest.

Blood explodes from his mouth, his hands instinctively going to the dented belly portion of his armor. Vegeta tries to breathe but finds the task almost as impossible as the first time he used the gravity machine on himself.

"Not laughing now, are you?"

A cold chill runs down his spine at the tone of his voice. Not his usual one or the angry tantrums of a child: but the cold edge of a true killer. He manages to raise his head to meet the boy's eyes once more and finds a faint smirk on his face, the same kind he gave Gohan not mere moments ago.

"Gohan! Stop!" Kakarot appears at the boy's side, also a Super Saiyan, likely for extra protection and reaches out to him. "You've done it! You're a-"

Whatever praise he was about to send Gohan's way is lost when his son brings him crashing into the ground with an elbow to his gut. Kakarot too bursts out into a fit of coughing blood, gasping desperately for air.

Gohan grabs him by the back of his belt. "I'll deal with you later," Is all he tells his father before tossing him gently into the air then uppercutting him in the ribcage. An instant later, his buried fist unleashes a wave of energy many times the sizes and strength of Vegeta's and blasts away directly up into the sky.

The boy watches the beam, and his parent, vanish off into the distance until they're but a small flicker in the sky.

"Now then," Gohan cracks his knuckles, smiling down at Vegeta with a grin that would make Freeza proud. "Did I win the bet?"

* * *

**Honestly, did you think this WOULDN'T end with a massive ass-whooping for Vegeta? Clearly, you've not seen the guy's track record for fights. Or Gohan's when he flips shit.**

**Anywho, here's some power levels:**

**Goku: 4.4 million (Base), 220 million (Super Saiyan)**

**Vegeta: 4.2 million (Base), 210 million (Super Saiyan)**

**Gohan: 4 million (Base). 200 million (regular Super Saiyan), 280 million and rising (rage boost + SS)**


	11. The Danger

Over the past few years, Gohan has often wondered what goes through the minds of his father and his many companions when it comes to fighting. Time and again they had opportunities to end the fight before it could get worse.

He can name no less than four occasions when the near disastrous fight against Freeza could have ended prematurely and far better for everyone involved. Vegeta, instead of goading him to transform, could have cooperated with him and Krillin to put the tyrant down in his first form.

Krillin could have cut the fiends head off when he was pursued by him through the wastelands of the vacant Planet Namek but chose not to. Piccolo could have defeated him in his second form by simply going all out immediately, taking the conqueror by surprise and finishing him off before another transformation turned the tide against them.

His father, with the ability to rapidly and massively increase his strength, could have instantly destroyed Freeza and left Namek without needing to witness his best friends death and nearly die on an exploding world.

So many opportunities to end the fight so everyone could go home. What could they have been thinking? This is what Gohan's dominant, logical mind wondered. His other one, usually buried under a strict tutelage of politeness from his mother and his own temperament knew the answer.

They loved the thrill of combat. Even if it killed them or brought them close to the brink of death, they loved this aspect of combat. That excitement of a constantly shifting tide against a powerful adversary, the prospect of a worthy challenge to test their might against.

Gohan himself felt this same, reason deafening battle junkie rush take over for him whenever he got angry. But it always fades, gone as soon as it shows up and without a lasting effect.

But now, with the long lasting power of the Super Saiyan coursing through his veins and a bloody Saiyan Prince at his feet, Gohan understands it all very well.

There's no pesky conscience or sense of self-restraint, self-doubt more like holding him back anymore, urging him to pull his punches. That pesky voice in his head telling him this isn't him or prompting him to bow to whatever stupid thing his mother wants him to study now.

For the first time in maybe his entire life, he feels in control, he feels free. Like he could do whatever he wants and no one can do a damn thing about it.

Certainly not Vegeta, who, in his endless wisdom, roars, and charges at him once again. Being the living embodiment of an easily bruised ego, his frustration is painfully clear and pretty funny to the boy as he effortlessly avoids his punches and kicks.

Amazing how a so-called proud warrior Prince can sink to the emotional level of a whiny five-year-old if push him hard enough. He has no doubt that the smirk adorned on his face is likely making the Saiyan even more furious.

"Who's the brat now?" Gohan mocks, crossing his arms as he practically dances through the volley of attacks sent at him. "Jealous you don't stronger by being a... what did you call me? A psychotic little lunatic?"

"Silence!" Vegeta roars as Gohan casually jumps onto his fist and leaps away from him, causing the Prince to stumble and fall face first into the ground.

"Then again," The half-Saiyan begins as his opponent growls back onto his feet. "How's that any different from what you usually act like?"

"Worthless brat!" Vegeta declares, clenching his fist so tightly Gohan can even spot a small trickle of blood leave his palms. "I am the Saiyan Prince! The most powerful warrior my species has ever produced! Don't mistake your improved speed as you being stronger than me!"

"Improved speed?" Gohan quirks an eyebrow and bursts out laughing at his petty reply. "Seriously? I've beaten you into the dirt with much more than just my speed! Or," He leans forward, his smirk turning into a cocky grin. "Is your ego really so bruised you're already blocking out the finer details?"

He spots a vein pop in Vegeta's forehead, causing him to almost double over in laughter as the Prince powers back up. Gohan can't help but wonder if he really believes his temper will grant him a power boost large enough to finish this fight, can he really be so deluded?

When he recalls how he boasted about his so-called Super Saiyan power to Freeza, knowing full-well he was thoroughly screwed, Gohan knows the answer.

"Gohan!" He hears a familiar but entirely unwelcome voice call out from behind him. The voice belonging to his equally bruised, Super Saiyan father glaring at him. "Stop this right now before you do something you'll regret!"

The boy chooses to reply by kneeing him in the gut, sending him tumbling over into the dirt. "Like that?" He asks his coughing father. "You should've thought about that before you used this psychopath for your little plan, honestly, what did you think was gonna happen?"

"I wouldn't let him hurt-" He's cut off by Gohan smashing his head into the ground with a stomp of his foot.

"Have you looked at me?!" Gohan growls, driving his foot just a bit more into his skull. "I thought he was gonna kill me! That I was gonna fail mom and grandpa Ox-King and everyone else on Earth! Did that cross your mind?!"

He grabs his father by the neck and lifts him off the ground, bringing his bloody face to eye level. "Or maybe you wanted that? After all, if I was dead, I wouldn't need to eat, drink or sleep. I could devote all my time to the one thing you REALLY care about: more training and fighting."

To his left, Gohan sensed Vegeta preparing to fire his signature blast at him, the Gallick Gun judging by his golden, flame-like aura shifting into a dark purple one crackling with lightning.

"Bastards," He calls his father and the Saiyan Prince. "Fighting junkies who don't get anything but beating people up," His grip around Goku's neck tightens. "Hopefully, this time, you'll learn an important lesson, goading someone into getting stronger can bite you in the ass. Remember after I finish."

"GALICK GUN!" Vegeta unleashes his blast at Gohan in a brilliant display of light and power. Even the boy, through his Super Saiyan-induced high, admits his power has somewhat increased, not enough to be a threat but not negligible either.

Instead of swatting it away or simply dodging it like he can easily do, Gohan grins and rushes head first into the blast. The beam of purple energy barrels down on him, casting an imposing sight for anyone inferior to Vegeta.

Just before he smashes into the beam, he holds his incapacitated father out in front of him and uses him as a shield against the attack. Amidst the sound of clashing energies and the surrounding area being blasted apart, he can somewhat make out the pained screams of his father as his whole body takes the brunt of Vegeta's attack.

His pesky conscience would have likely screamed at him right now, luckily, Gohan couldn't hear it.

The beam quickly dissipates as Vegeta uses up a considerable portion of his remaining strength to fire it. Gohan can't help but smirk at his shocked expression as appears through the smoke cloud with a barely conscious Goku in his hand and a fist prime to smash him.

Chucking his father to the ground with barely another glance, Gohan punches the stunned Saiyan Prince with such force and speed, his whole body lifts off the ground and spins wildly in mid-air.

Further amused by seeing Vegeta turned into a human yo-yo toy, he pulls back his leg and carefully aims for the precise moment to strike. Aiming for his already battered armor piece, Gohan inflicts further damage to it and that section of Vegeta's chest with his readied kick, sending the Prince soaring into the sky.

 _Time to end this,_ with a loud shout, the boy's aura explodes in another beam of golden power. He positions both of his hands at his side and focuses the energy illuminating the arena into gargantuan balls held by his palms.

He looks up and sees Vegeta, still somehow a Super Saiyan but barely in fighting condition, plummeting towards the ground. He smirks and pours more energy into the balls when he hears that unwelcome voice call out to him.

"Gohan..." His father crawls toward him. "You've... got to... stop..."

The boy just snorts at this and blocks out his other pleas. Lifting his hands above his head, the two balls of energy join together in a singular, massive one.

"MASEN-"

Before he can finish his shout, Gohan feels a sharp jolt of pain erupt near the back of his neck and course through his entire body. In spite of his protests and commands, his body won't listen to him, freezing up on him as his gathered energy quickly dissipates.

His hands are the first thing to go numb, falling to his sides as though they were broken. The knees go out next, causing him to slump lamely to the ground. He feels the strength of a Super Saiyan abandon him as he lays on the ground, unable to move.

With the vanishing legendary power, so fades his ability to remain conscious. The fatigue and adrenaline spurring the transformation and keeping it persistently running are gone, replaced by an overwhelming feeling of cold numbness.

Gohan's eyes feel heavy, his vision more and more blurry as time goes on. The last thing he sees before the darkness takes him is a green man standing above him.

But not a green man he recognizes though he closely resembles his master. His brown, massive headpiece, puffy pink lips, and blood-red eyes confirm as much, green eyes looking down at him with a mix of admiration and fear.

Somewhere from what seems like far away, he hears his father's tired, pained voice address this arrival just before Gohan finally slips away.

"Pikkon!"

* * *

**A relatively short chapter but I'll make it up to you guys next time by showing off what Piccolo is up to and that much hyped up but not yet delivered, heart to heart between old Gohan and young Gohan.**

**It was meant to happen here, honest, but I couldn't find a way to fit it into the chapter without making the whole thing feel tonally inconsistent and clunky as all hell. Expect Gohan's hipocrisy of "How can you not end the fight!" then proceeding to toy with his dad and Vegeta like any good cocky DB asshole does to come heavily into play here.**


	12. The Master Becomes The Pupil

_What's Vegeta doing with Gohan and Goku?_

Piccolo wonders as he picks up the Saiyan's energies all at the same spot. Nothing odd for the father and son duo, they've spent most of their time here training together. Vegeta's inclusion is what both puzzles and worries him. A rush through the wind to his left catches his attention, prompting his body into action and narrowly allowing him to avoid most of the punch, only suffering a cut to his cheek.

"Don't get so easily distracted!" His master warns him while spinning in mid-air, using the momentum for a kick. Piccolo only narrowly manages to duck under it. Not that it matters, for the older Namekian re-adjusts to his pupil's altered position, firing on him with a volley of blasts. With a series of quick, focused jabs, Piccolo manages to disperse them all only to suffer a punch to the chest from his masters stretching arm.

From the clawed appendage currently ramming into his lungs, a ball of yellow energy forms and promptly blows up at point blank range. Landing with a loud crash, Piccolo leaps out of the crater, avoiding a new hailstorm of blasts sent his way.

Placing two of his fingers mere inches from his forehead, a yellow orb of electricity gathers before his eyes as he readies his best attack. Momentarily, the volley of fire seems less difficult for him to avoid. A nice bonus for focusing much of his energy into a singular point, raising his overall power for the duration of his charging period.

He knows it's an advantage which won't last long, though. Already, his master effortlessly adapts to his greater speed. With just a bit more, he could blast him a dozen times over.

Instead of waiting for such a thing to happen, Piccolo takes off into the sky and jabs his fingers in the direction of his fellow Namekian.

"Makankōsappō!" He roars the name of his ultimate move, unleashing a beam of spiraling, electric energy towards his master.

As he expected, the other Namekian responds by blocking the attack with an energy shield focusing on his front side. The Makankōsappō shatters like glass against it, getting a chuckle out of its target.

"Get ready, Piccolo!" His master warns him as his eyes begin to glow with yellow fire. "Remember, just like we've practiced!"

Piccolo nods, extending his open hands towards his master just as a beam of vast, yellow energy bursts from his eyes. Glaring at it and gritting his teeth, Piccolo puts all his concentration on the blast hurtling towards him. Primarily through his ability to sense ki.

During their more routine practices of this technique, Piccolo managed to perform quite well, quickly getting a feel for the blasts sent his way and promptly responding to them. But this was early on when the two merely stood in an open field with little in the way of physically taxing exercises to bog him down.

Now? The fatigue of combat has taken its toll on him, even in his dead body, the lengths of his master's assault thus far have left him worn out. In ideal conditions, a blast of this magnitude could easily be sensed. But now, with a worn down mind and body, he finds himself growing more and more uncertain of his ability to perform the move this time.

Still, his enemies won't simply stand perfectly still and go easy on him. He needs to learn how to do this as effortlessly as any other technique and move on to master others. He can't afford to fall behind the others when the Earth, and possibly the universe, needs them all at their absolute peak.

The blast singes his palms upon reaching him, the least of the damage to come should he fail to do what comes next. Slowly twisting his arms into a slow, circular motion, with great difficulty, the beam of energy obeys his command, twisting to his will while still trying to blow him to pieces.

Snarling in anger and feeling every fiber of his being strain under the pressure, Piccolo manages to force the beam of energy into a ball position. He almost finds himself mesmerized by the display and not for the first time.

The raw energy flows like water into a new form under his motions, appearing less like a cascade of wild energy sent to destroy him but something much more calming and possibly even beautiful.

But this is just the first part of the technique, the next one he must perform quickly or risk losing control. Pulling his arms back with the ball positioned in-between his palms, he prepares to fire the attack back at his master in a thrusting motion similar to the Kamehameha. Just as he prepares to do so, his concentration momentarily wanders to another battle happening off in the distance. Between Gohan and Vegeta, but not the one he expected when he first sensed them minutes earlier.

Next to Vegeta's blazing energy, empowered by his Super Saiyan form, he senses another, far more powerful and vicious one exploding right next to him. For a few moments, he cannot recognize it until he spots something familiar in the inferno of golden energy burning off in the distance.

_G-Gohan?!_

A painful burning feeling eats away at his palms, returning Piccolo's focus to the matter at hand only for him to realize his own folly. The ball contorts and expands wildly in his hands, completely from of his last thing Piccolo hears before the ball engulfs him in a blazing explosion of energy is the call of his master rushing in vain to save him.

* * *

Piccolo awakens with a moan, feeling the first true weight of fatigue since arriving to Grand Kai's planet. An impressive feat to achieve for someone who's usual necessities are all but gone here. To his surprise, he finds himself in a fairly comfy bed and a white blanket covering most of his body. Slowly and cautiously, he pulls the blanket off and climbs out of the bed, still feeling sore all over.

 _Damn that technique,_ He curses while trying to keep his balance. The door to his room creaks open, revealing another, familiar Namekian on the other side.

"Ah good! You're awake!" His master, the Super Namekian of legends, Lord Slug, steps inside with a toothy grin and a keg of water in hand. Piccolo met the warrior mere hours after arriving in the afterlife. King Kai was to thank for their introduction. Almost immediately, Piccolo felt a great power within the man, the sort of power he knows he needs to save the Earth and fight other threats from across the cosmos.

After a taxing sparring match and a bit of convincing from the Grand Elder, his much younger brother, Slug agreed to train him in the ancient ways of the Super Namekian's. Despite some early insistence from the old warrior, Piccolo chooses to call him master as a sign of respect. Something which surprises him even now, perhaps an aftereffect of his fusion with Nail giving him a respect for his elders?

"Catch," He tosses the keg to Piccolo who manages to catch it. "Good, good! Drink up! It'll help you regain your strength."

Piccolo wastes no time in doing so, drinking the entire contents of the cooling, fresh water and letting himself enjoy every second of it. It reminds him of the ice water from Yunzabit Heights.

"How long was I out for?" Piccolo inquires, wiping the remains of the water from his lips. It's hard to tell how much time passes exactly around here, it's always day time, something which doesn't bother the other Namekian's but certainly feels bizarre for him. Especially now that he essentially has no real reason to sleep anymore.

"Only half an hour," Master Slug sits down on a nearby chair, no doubt meant for visiting friends. "The fact you've recovered so quickly speaks volumes about your strength Piccolo. In only a short amount of time, you've improved considerably."

"The Grand Elder mentioned Nail has something to do with that," He materializes his cape and turban on, lessening the weights a bit until he gets better. "Apparently this new body's given me a vast amount of new potential to tap into. Still, I'll need more than raw power to master these techniques of yours."

"It'll be worth the trouble," Master Slug assures him. "For your first time using that technique in actual combat, and fatigued no less, you've performed incredibly well. If you hadn't gotten distracted, I think you could have fired it back at me."

Piccolo freezes as he remembers what precisely distracted him. "Gohan," He mutters, turning fully to face his master. "What's happened?"

Slug's grin fades, replaced with a face full of hesitation. He sighs. "I'll tell you so long as you don't do something stupid."

"I don't do stupid things," Piccolo tells him calmly.

"Very well," Slug crosses his arms, leaning back into the chair. "The boy, Gohan, managed to attain the power of a Super Saiyan as his father intended. However, he lost control of himself and nearly killed the haughty bastard of a Prince. Were it not for Pikkon's surprising intervention, he might have done quite a bit more damage."

He finds himself at a loss for words. Gohan, a Super Saiyan? Nearly killing Vegeta? Shaking his head slightly, he takes a few urging steps towards the Super Namekian. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Slug assures him. "He took quite a beating from the Prince and Pikkon's little jab to his neck but he's resting here in the hospital with you as we speak. The healer says he should be waking up any moment now."

Calming himself done a bit, Piccolo finds it easier to process the information. Remembering his master's words and combining them with a bit of common sense, however, makes his small comfort quickly vanish, replacing it with a slowly rising fury.

"That idiot," Piccolo mutters, clenching his fists and making a beeline for the door only for Slug to extend his hand, blocking his path.

"You said you don't do stupid things," Master Slug calmly reminds him though this only makes Piccolo angrier.

"He sent Vegeta to torture the boy," Piccolo replies matter of factly. "Goku's far from the smartest man to ever live, but if he knows one thing it's fighting. He knew exactly what would happen here and he didn't do anything about it. He couldn't even be asked to have you there to step in if Gohan went wild."

"Goku is a fighting genius, yes," Slug admits with a nod of his head but doesn't retract his arm. "But I suspect his poor understanding of other things may have hampered his judgment this time around."

Piccolo merely raises an eyebrow at him, earning another sigh from his master.

"I don't know your pupil particularly well but even from a few brief exchanges and just by looking at him, I can tell that he's not like the rest of us. Similar in some ways but not distinctly different in others."

"A fact I'm well aware of-" He tries to retort when he starts to understand where his master is going with this. "But Goku isn't..."

"Indeed," Slug nods again. "Saiyan's from what I know aren't exactly the most emotional of creatures. It takes a great deal to make them care about things other than fighting. They have no real concept of family and as a species born for combat, there's something distinctly... off about the way their brains are hardwired. To see a Saiyan exhibit something like tears or rage about the death of another an exceedingly rare sight."

Piccolo briefly remembers seeing Vegeta, the most prideful of his species and the embodiment of what they were, break down when his spirit was shattered against Freeza.

"But when it comes to Super Saiyan's, I suspect this is an advantage," Slug continues. "Because they aren't as emotionally developed as other species, the transformation doesn't affect them quite as profoundly. At best it makes them more reckless or just more inclined for fighting. But we both know Gohan isn't a regular Saiyan. He's in many ways emotionally and mentally more similar to humans.

"He understands things at a far greater level than his Saiyan forefathers. He has greater emotional range, a more developed psyche capable of seeing the world through a great many angles, positive and negatives ones. This is why he can do things Goku and Vegeta can't, how he can tap into massive reserves of power through anger well ahead of becoming a Super Saiyan."

"But when he became one, his better nature and understanding went berzerk?" Piccolo inquires.

"In a manner of speaking," Slug shrugs, finally retracting his arm. "I suspect his psyche underwent something of a merging of two sides. His Saiyan nature burst forth, unleashing a craving for battle and destruction he's probably never felt before, at least not so profoundly. But his better understanding didn't fade, not fully. Creating a mindset of a raging animal hellbent on tearing apart everything in his path but one who understands perfectly why and how he got put into this position. Goku himself even confirmed this for me when I asked him about it."

"What did he say?"

"He said Gohan accused him of wanting him to get killed," Slug says matter of factly. "That his father would've liked for him to die by Vegeta's hand. It would let Gohan train longer, harder and without needing to take breaks. It's a terrible thing for a child to think about his parent, but that's precisely what Super Saiyan did to the boy. It made him a hurricane of anger seeing the world around him as bleak and hostile in every possible way. In such a state of mind, the boy's concience likely faded away with only his rage giving him any sense of control over the things happening around him."

"And Goku couldn't predict that because he doesn't understand that," Piccolo concludes, feeling much less inclined to argue with the man and much more interested in helping to console the no doubt shaken boy.

"I suspect not," Master Slug leaves his chair. "He probably never will, but hopefully, this makes him more cautious about how intensely he wants to push Gohan in the future. In his own way, this may serve as a wake up call for him too."

 _I hope so,_ Piccolo thinks when he receives a strong pat on the back.

"Besides, you sent the boy to fight Vegeta when he invaded the Earth without much in the way of training, hardly the safest thing to put a five-year-old through now is it?"

Piccolo glares at him, for the first time, feeling genuine regret for getting himself involved with the Super Namekian. But his irritation only masks a silent acknowledgment of what he's saying. He did throw Gohan into a horrible situation because he had no other choice but to do it. He knows Goku was faced with a similar situation, to save the planet down the line, Gohan needed the power of a Super Saiyan at his fingertips.

"Come now," Slug pushes Piccolo again. "Let's go visit the boy! Judging by his ki, I'd say he's on the cusp of waking up."

Piccolo merely nods, opening the door for his master who nearly hits runs into another spirit. An older human with a small black cap resembling Chiaotzu's and a heavy mustache growing from his nostrils.

"Pardon me!" The man exclaims, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly with a chuckle. "I was just on my way to visit someone and I didn't see you there-"

The human suddenly stops upon seeing Piccolo, his previous awkwardness fading, replaced with a curious look in his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to be Piccolo by any chance?"

"I am," Piccolo confirms, eyeing the man with some suspicion as he gives him a friendly smile.

"Thought so! My grandson's spoken very highly of you! Way he talks about you, you'd think you were his cool uncle or something!" He laughs at his own description for the Namekian who begins to remember the man's face from a vague memory of the Son household. Specifically, an old picture he noticed around the place during his frequent visits.

"Oh, where are my manners!" The old man laughs again, extending his hand out to him. "I'm Gohan, the other Gohan's grandpa!"

* * *

**You all knew these two had to meet sooner or later :P**


	13. Heart To Heart

He knows they're waiting outside, all of them and a couple more he didn't expect to show up thanks to their ki signatures. All of them probably worrying about him and wondering when he'll wake up, no doubt intensely keeping an eye on his own energy.

Gohan doesn't let it go up, instead, he keeps his ki as low as possible to create the illusion he's relaxed and asleep. Not an easy task thanks to a splitting headache making him feel woozy but its better than the alternative as far as he's concerned.

He really doesn't want to talk to them about today's events, not right now at least. He can barely make sense of it himself. No, he can make sense of it but it's easier to pretend like he doesn't, like it's some big mystery he doesn't already know the answer to. An answer which scares him in ways he suspected using Super Saiyan would if he ever attained it.

He just hoped he'd never pull it off.

Gohan let outs a barely audible sigh and shifts inside the comfy bed, burying his head in its sheets and pillow. He tries to actually fall back asleep but his headache makes this an impossibility.

He immediately stiffens upon hearing the door creak open and a power stronger than the average human but many, many times inferior to the others outside he immediately recognizes enters the room.

The boy tries to keep his breathing steady as the footsteps get closer and closer. Upon reaching his bed, they suddenly halt and he doesn't hear any audible motion from the person next to him.

_Go away, go away, go away, go away-_

"Wake up!" A karate chop and quiet order from the older man to his head promptly dashes all hopes of him avoiding the impending conversation and end his mental chant.

With great reluctance, Gohan unburies his head and glares at his grandfather. "How did you-"

"Fighting isn't your dad's only hobby," Grandpa chuckles, pulling the nearby chair closer. "He played that fake sleeping trick on me to stay in longer but I figured it out pretty quickly."

He has to concede that point, his father's other hobbies do include copious amounts of food and equally intense bouts of sleeping. Grandpa sits down next to him with a sympathetic smile gracing his features. Gohan can't really muster the strength or will to quite return it.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay," Grandpa tells him while leaning forward. "I already know the answer to that just by looking at you. No, I'm going to ask: how can I help?"

Gohan lets out a defeated sigh. "I'm not sure you can..."

"You can tell me anything, Gohan," Grandpa gently urges him. "That's one of the perks of having a grandparent, you can tell them all sorts of things you can never tell to your folks or your friends. And the best part? They'll always keep your secrets for you!"

Another point Gohan reluctantly concedes. Much of his time with his mother during his early life comprised of her either giving him chores or more things to study. Something which has only recently diminished with her pregnancy and the death of his father happening so close to one another.

His father who, fall of his fun loving thrill and friendly nature, isn't exactly the most knowledgeable or tactful person in the world, to put it mildly. Not someone to discuss serious matters or share important personal secrets with.

Ox-King, his other grandfather, fits this mold as well. A simple man with a cheery disposition contrasting his imposing physical size but not the sort of person Gohan has ever felt he could ever trust with his innermost feelings to given his mother's control over him.

This has left only Piccolo as something of an ideal confidant. Not exactly the best to talk feelings with as many things human feel and think are totally alien to him. But his strength and confidence have always helped Gohan feel safer, more confident in himself, especially these past few months.

Even with this in mind, Gohan has never managed to muster the courage to tell him how he feels about the subject at hand. He fears what Piccolo would react to how Gohan perceives some of his actions.

Glancing away from his clenched hands to his Grandfather's face, he knows he can't simply ask him to leave and end it with that. Particularly because he doesn't want to potentially hurt the man's feelings after wishing for so many years to meet him.

"You promise?"

Grandpa nods. "I promise."

"Okay," Gohan sighs, already feeling tired just thinking about how to start this conversation. "Dad and his friends... have a way of doing things..."

"Alright..."

"You know they like to fight, right?"

"Of course," Grandpa nods. "It's been in your father's blood since the day I met him. In those first few months, I couldn't get him to do anything without practically fighting him to the death."

"That's exactly the problem," Gohan says under his breath, earning a confused look from his grandparent. "Dad and the others... They love to fight... Too much. So many times I've seen them when they could've just... ended things."

"I see," Grandpa replies contemplatively. "They don't care if it makes things worse?"

"I think they do it because of that," Gohan admits, feeling wrong for saying something as morbid as that. "I think the idea of a fight getting more and more challenging excites them. So much so they let things their opponents, terrible, terrible people get stronger and stronger just for that thrill. Or to stroke their own egos by flexing their muscles.

"My master, Piccolo, he came to save us when we were fighting this guy called Freeza."

"I've heard of him," Grandpa replies grimly. "I've met a lot of good people he's killed."

"And he killed a lot of Piccolo's people too," Gohan continues. "So, you'd think Piccolo would want revenge, right? That he'd do whatever it takes to beat him? But he didn't," He looks away from his grandfather as an odd frustration creeps into his voice. "He kept toying with him, making these big boasts and just wasting time! The same exact thing Freeza kept doing to us, Piccolo did to him! And then Freeza turned the tables on him and we all thought we were gonna die again!"

He takes a deep breath before continuing with an even harsher tone. "Then there's dad! He showed up to save us again, he heard what Freeza did to the Namekian's and even to the Saiyan's! He made this big boast that he's gonna beat Freeza and then he just kept messing around with him too! For fun! He's having fun goading this... monster into just getting stronger when he can just beat him!"

Gohan lets out a sigh of mixed frustration and fatigue. "Why can't they just end the fight? Just... end it so we can all go home? That's what I kept asking myself ever since dad didn't come home from Namek. I had a lot of time to think things through. I couldn't get what goes through their minds to do stuff like that. To just... ignore all the warning signs and stopping the bad guy when they've got a chance to just for fun..."

Neither of them say anything for a little while as Gohan's voice trails off.

"But now you do, don't you?" Grandpa asks carefully, both of them fully aware of what using Super Saiyan did to him.

Gohan nods and rubs way the tears forming in his eyes. "And I hate it, Grandpa. I really hate it. I hate how I just... shut down. Let myself turn into... Vegeta of all people. A power-mad bully who thinks beating other people up is... fun..."

"You don't hate fighting, though," Grandpa calmly points out. "I've seen you enjoy training with your dad."

"I like martial arts," Gohan admits without hesitation. "I like learning new moves, practicing them, sparring,... " His lips curve upwards into a smile. "I think all of that stuffs great..."

The smile fades, replaced by his previous, solemn expression. "But I'm not my dad. I don't think fighting for your life against guys like Freeza or Vegeta is fun. It's not. It's horrible, it's dangerous and I just..." he sighs again. "I want it to end as fast as possible. I can't afford to let myself think like that. There's too much counting on me back home to start now."

Another silence befalls them until Gohan speaks up again. "I don't hate my dad or Piccolo or Krillin... They're good people, I know they are and I'm proud to know them..."

"But you're not like them," Grandpa leans closer, putting a comforting arm around Gohan's shoulder. "And that's fine my boy. There's more than one way to be a warrior. Some like to indulge in the excitement of it, the thrill of life and death combat, it has certain disadvantages but some advantages too."

"It makes them a lot more determined than I am," Gohan admits with a slight blush and small smirk. "They're so crazy focused on this stuff, I'm actually kind of jealous."

"See?" Grandpa pats him on the chest. "Good and bad come in equal parts for them. Just as your idea for fighting comes with certain advantages and disadvantages."

"It lets me stop things before they can get too bad."

"Of course," Grandpa nods conversationally before his face grows a bit grimmer. "But it can also lead to a dark path, one equally as self-destructive as letting yourself get too caught up in the excitement of fighting."

Gohan turns to look at the older man, confused by his words and more than a little worried.

"Thinking pragmatically is does lead to quicker, more decisive action, that's true. But, taken too far and soon anything that isn't useful stops seeming worthwhile. Whatever doesn't help you advance your goals starts to look like a hindrance or waste of time. Go down this path for too long, and you even run the risk of becoming as indifferent to killing another person as you are to breathing. It all becomes natural for you."

Gohan stiffens at this scenario, one similar to his own thought process as a Super Saiyan yet distinctly different. But both paths leading to the same conclusion: self-destruction for the one practicing one or the other too excessively.

What terrifies him most is how such an obvious thing hadn't even crossed his mind until just now.

"As odd as it might be, I want you to try and understand your father's position better," Grandpa continues with his conversational tone back. "I'm not saying you have to think or act like him, or even approve of it. But there's a difference between understanding something for its merits, and learning from them and outright approval. For example... I don't approve of me not being allowed to see the ladies bathing rooms in Heaven! I understand why they're there but it doesn't mean I like them."

With a blush to the younger one's face, both Gohan's burst out laughing, letting the stress and tension of the day wash away thanks to the ever reliable medicine of humor.

When he finally stops, Gohan looks back to his grandfather and gives him a tight hug. "Thanks, Grandpa."

The old man responds in kind. "Anytime my boy, anytime."

* * *

**Finally got that important heart to heart conversation done! And hopefully with just enough heart and not too much melodrama.**

**Gohan as a character is something I've wanted to do differently from the rest. He is NOT a guy who loves fighting the same way the others do but he enjoys martial arts. Thus, I'll be taking an Obi-Wan Kenobi approach with the character. Essentially, a devastating warrior who prefers to either practice martial arts or read a book to straight up life and death combat but will do so if the situations calls for it.**

**This is the best way to reconcile the fighter/bookworm aspects of Gohan without betraying either of them IMO.**


	14. A New Bar Is Set

_I can't believe Gohan did this,_ Krillin telepathically says to Tien so as to keep their conversation private in the presence from Piccolo's ever sharp hearing. The two martial artists, along with Piccolo, his newly appointed mentor, the Super Namekian of legends by the name of Lord Slug, King Kai and their own new mentor, the hero of Earth antiquity, Olibu stand in the hallway outside of Gohan's room, waiting for the other Gohan to talk with the boy.

As usual for himself, Piccolo, and even Slug, they opt to stand on their feet with their hands crossed, their expressions neutral and their backs leaning against nearby walls. Krillin sits on the floor next to a disturbingly quiet Goku on the floor like a pair of kids while King Kai and Olibu remain closer to Vegeta's door of all places. They all sensed the rapid spike in Gohan's power and promptly rushed to the location. Well, except Piccolo who also found himself the victim of an unintended training accident.

_I mean,_ Krillin continues. _I know he can get really mad, but this?_ He subtly nudges his head in Goku's direction, emphasizing his best friends still tattered gi.

_Is it that surprising, though?_ Tien asks, earning a sideways glance from the crouching martial artist next to him. _The poor kid got backed into a corner by Vegeta as a Super Saiyan no less, and his own dad put him in that situation._

Krillin doesn't speak again, though his silence does imply he somewhat agrees with him on this one, at least. He'd say otherwise if he didn't.

As they continue to wait, Tien momentarily remembers his own training under the Crane Hermit, a torturous process he once viewed with great pride. He remembers the many nights spent in the wilderness, either alone or with Chiaotzu. Facing down the most dangerous beasts or hired mercenaries sent by his own teacher to hunt him or them down for weeks at a time, all fully meant to kill them if they failed. Entire sessions resembling torture more than any martial arts meant to inflict as much pain as possible to make him mentally and physically numb to it. Situations where he and Chiaotzu were conditioned into striking back at their opponent with a fury and vengeance, to make them pay for the trouble they've caused.

Cruel lessons taught by a cruel man to breed more cruel men.

Not that Tien can call Goku cruel, far from it. In spite of having a monstrous desire for combat and prowess for it, Tien can wholeheartedly say Goku's probably one of the nicest people he's ever met. A simple man with a simple outlook on life, almost too simple for his own good in this case. The three-eyed warrior has no doubts about Goku's intentions with this little gambit, he knows Goku never meant for any of this to happen. But he cannot fully condone the man's decision, it was a poorly thought out one plain and simple.

A bad call made with good intentions can still cause harm, hopefully, the Saiyan warrior learns this lesson and doesn't repeat it again. For if Gohan becomes much more powerful, next time it could end much, much worse. Despite feeling sympathy for the boy, Tien momentarily feels a pang of jealousy at just how much someone so young has outclassed him. And not solely because of his own effort, but because of his Saiyan heritage giving him the advantage.

Still, he came here with the intention of closing this gap between himself and the so-called super aliens around him, and with the help of Master Olibu? He has no doubts about succeeding in this task.

Suddenly, like a jolt of electricity running through his system, Tien, and the others all notice of three fairly strong energy signatures just around the corner. They don't physically react, opting to pretend as though they aren't there. Instead, another person establishes a telepathic connection with them, Piccolo.

_What're they saying?_ Asks Krillin?

_They're after Vegeta,_ Piccolo states in his usual neutral tone, betraying no emotion. _The loudest one, Caterpy, he says Vegeta attacked his planet 10 years ago. He wants him gone for it._

_I guess we're standing in his way?_ Krillin suggests.

_Just barely, his two partners are barely holding him back, apparently, they weren't counting on King Kai, Olibu or Master Slug to be here._

_And yet,_ Master Olibu speaks with barely contained laughter. _They were fine with taking you all on? With Goku here?_

_I never said they were particularly bright,_ Piccolo responds with a smidge of cockiness in his tone this time. _It's of no consequence now, they're leaving anyway though I suspect this isn't the last we'll see or hear of them._

_I was afraid of this,_ King Kai says with something approximating a sigh. _You've all earned your place here in Otherworld for your services in life. Vegeta, however, has not, in their eye's he's a ruthless murderer deserving only of complete annihilation._

"Can you blame them?" Tien asks the deity, seeing no point in conversing telepathically with the other group gone. "He's probably responsible for putting dozens of these guys here and who knows how many in Heaven."

_Tien..._ Krillin's wary voice echoes in his mind. _You don't need to get into this again-_

"You misunderstand, I don't condone Vegeta's actions, not in the slightest," King Kai says matter of factly to make his point clear to everyone. "But in spite of his actions, his power is necessary for us. I don't need to remind you of what evil still slumbers out there, ready to unleash havoc and destruction of unparalleled magnitude across the cosmos. To face such an evil, we need Vegeta's power as a Super Saiyan."

"Besides," Lord Slug speaks up for the first time, his loud, booming voice getting everyone's attention. "My newest apprentice here has somewhat of a checkered past as well, yet, I don't hear any complaints about him being here."

"Piccolo proved himself when he gave his life up for Gohan," Tien states as he notices the Namekian stiffen from everyone talking about him. "Vegeta's not the kind of guy to give everything up to save someone else. He'll let us all burn if it satiates his damn pride."

"Though I don't fully agree with Tien's sentiment, Vegeta's pride may indeed become an issue," Mater Olibu Chimes in. "His defeat today will motivate him to train harder yes, but it will also likely make him more hostile than he already is."

"I'm counting on the former to nullify the latter," King Kai interjects. "His aggression will no doubt become greater than before, but, under my careful guidance, I believe I can help him channel this into training harder than before. Thus serving our overall needs."

"You really think he'll listen to you?" Tien inquires with a great deal of skepticism.

King Kai doesn't seem insulted by his tone, instead, a mischevious grin forms on his lips. "Oh, he'll listen to me alright, I've got what he wants after all."

"I'm really sorry about this guys," Goku speaks up for the first time since giving everyone a rundown of the incident, shifting focus away from the Saiyan Prince. His somewhat restrained tone takes them all by surprise. "I guess I should've thought this through a little better."

"No argument here, son," Says the elder Gohan as he exits his grandson's room. "But on this end, at least, I believe the damage has been mitigated."

"Is Gohan alright?" Goku and Piccolo ask in unison, both of them taking a few steps closer to the older Gohan's spirit.

"He's a bit shaken up by it all," The old martial artist confirms, somewhat to their chagrin. "But he's gotten some things off his chest, give him a little while longer to rest and he'll be ready to go as if nothing happened."

Tien notices them both visibly relax somewhat, though he, like the two of them, finds himself interested in what exactly Gohan needed to get off his chest which he couldn't share with anyone else. Not even to Goku, Piccolo or even Krillin.

"Well, well," King Kai says with an enthusiasm contrasting the mood. "It seems he's waking up."

An instant later, Tien and probably all the other sense it too, the rising of Vegeta's signature in the room next to Gohan's. Immediately, the diminutive deity heads for the room, only halting at the door to cast a look at Olibu.

"Please be sure to keep Caterpy or anyone else with similar ideas out," King Kai requests of the Earth legend. "I'd like to have this conversation without someone trying to blow Vegeta, and by extension, me, up."

"Of course, Master," Olibu agrees before eyeing Tien and Krillin. "The three of us will happily stand guard for you."

Mentally groaning at the prospect of having to stay in Vegeta's vicinity, Tien notices Krillin give him a sideways glance clearly saying "Should've kept your mouth shut." He can't help but agree with him on this one, especially since they can get some much-needed training done instead of being on guard duty. Gohan's actions today raised the bar further, and the three-eyed warrior knows he must try harder still to reach and surpass it.

* * *

**I was going to make this a Tien/Vegeta dual chapter but since next time we'll be reaching the end of this phase of the story, I feel like ending it with chapter 15 feels right. We'll probably have a sizeable time skip after King Kai talks to Vegeta, and going back to Earth for a while to see how people are coping in the new, un-society of Androids 17 and 18.**


	15. The Deal

Groaning as he slips back into consciousness, Vegeta's eyes try to adjust to the light with little initial success. The world looks like a blurry mess of distorted images all twisting and shifting with every movement of his eyes. In fact, his entire body feels... wrong. Whatever he touches under his surprisingly un-gloved fingers might as well not exist. An infuriating buzzing noise assaults his ears, blocking out even the sound of his own breathing.

Even the slightest of movements causes something sickening to churn inside his stomach, making something as pulling himself up as torturous mental and physical exercise. Still, no challenge has ever stopped Vegeta, either internal or external. With a great deal more trouble than he'd like, he manages to push himself up to a sitting position in the bed.

Unfortunately, his schizophrenic senses refuse to obey, remaining thoroughly, and annoyingly, on the fritz. In this haze of confusion, he tries to piece together what precisely put him in such condition. Using all the willpower, and more importantly, anger, he can muster, he fights through his headache and manages to conjure images of the incident.

Like a roaring Oozaru, the image of Gohan, shining in the golden power of a Super Saiyan, charging toward him with an intent to kill rivaling his very own sends his entire body into shock. As if the boy's coming towards him at this very moment, he instinctively tries to leap out of the way only to clumsily crash on the ground.

As he scrambles to get on his feet and failing miserably, another memory suddenly enters his thoughts, not for the first time lately either. One of a similar predicament he found himself in a few years ago, during his initial rush to best Kakarot. He pushed the gravity machine, and himself, too far and nearly died because of it.

Lost in the memory of that event, the dazed and confused Vegeta feels firm and steady pair of hands take hold of his arm, helping him back to the bed.

"Bulma...?" He asks in a raspy voice, knowing he's not likely to receive a hearable answer.

_Close, but no dice,_ A familiar voice but not the one he expected replies telepathically. _It's me, King Kai._

Shuddering at the thought of the fat, blue bastard helping him up, Vegeta immediately slips his arm away only to clumsily slam his behind on the bed.

_Easy Vegeta,_ The God soothes. _It seems you awoke before the healing process could complete. Either that or the nurse on call for you was being lazy. Not surprising since a lot of you fighting junkies don't bother coming around here._

_And where is... here precisely...?_

_The hospital of course! Hence the nurses, remember?_

_I'm trying not to remember much of anything at the moment,_ He mentally groans as his senses finally begin to clear up. With a few more blinks, he can finally see his surroundings properly. The room around him is meager in decoration with tile floors and a white color prevailing everything. He immediately notices the lack of a harness around his chest or his gloves and boots, rather, they're placed on the nightstand next to his bed.

He reaches out for the chest piece when the God speaks again. "Already planning to go out and train?"

"Of course," Vegeta answers the stupid question with the proper tone, the letting the questioner know he's being a fool for asking. "I've already lost an entire day for nothing, and there's much I have to do."

"Indeed, your performance against Gohan today does shed some light on things," Vegeta tries to ignore his words and how casually he's delivering them. In any other set of circumstances, he'd make a pitiful being such as this so-called... God pay dearly for insulting the pride of a Saiyan. But this time, he bites back any physical or verbal response, if he strikes back against him in any way, it's all over.

A few moments of silence pass as he slips the chest piece over his belt, making sure it's safely locked around him before putting on his boots and gloves next.

"One such revelation," The God continues, pacing slowly to face him. "Is how little progress you're making going as you are right now."

Just as he's about to slip his glove on, Vegeta freezes and stares at the deity staring back at him from across the room with a certain calmness pervading his whole body. He knows he's in control.

"My training is going fine, anyone who thinks otherwise is free to prove me wrong," The Prince states with just enough bite to his tone to get his point across without incurring the Kai's wrath. He silently damns Kakarot for no doubt giving his own, unwanted opinion on the gravity machines capabilities of meeting his training requirements.

"Sure, how do you want me to do it?" Instead of making him angry or prompting him to back off, the Kai merely smirks as a flash of light dances across his tiny, black glasses. "I know! Let's try it with weights!"

Vegeta's quirks an eyebrow. "Weights?"

"Weights," He repeats with a nod. "You may not know this, but I have the ability to conjure a great many things with my antenna, a simple but effective form of magic, you see. With this, I can create various tools or clothing for the purposes of training my students."

"Is there a point to this diatribe?" Vegeta crosses his arms over his shoulder, eyeing for the door so as to leave as quickly as possible.

"Of course," The deity continues as though he said nothing. "After Goku blasted through my course in less than a year, I've been tinkering with the process to spice this regiment of mine up. Care to be the first test subject for it?"

"And what exactly do I have to gain from being your rat?"

"Freedom!" The Kai exclaims with a clap of his hands. "If you can keep this weight of mine from hitting the floor without turning into a Super Saiyan, I'll leave you to your business and never bother you again. However, should I win, I shall oversee your training from this moment forth until the tournament, that sound fair to you?"

A great deal of anger dissipates upon hearing this proposal. He wants to train on his own terms and alone as much as possible, he has no need for masters or partners like the rest of them do. Still, to ensure no more potential incursions into his training time seems all too tantalizing of an offer to pass up.

"Fine," He agrees with a confident smirk. "Give me this weight of yours and I'll prove you, and that moron Kakarot wrong about my training."

"Oh Vegeta," The deity shakes his head at him. "You really never learn do you?"

"Either give me the weight or leave, I've no more patience for your rambling."

"Very well, enter a squatting position but flip your arms to the other side and clench your fists," Vegeta does as instructed. "Ready?"

The Prince gives the deity a simple glare, giving him all the answer he needs. Suddenly, sparks of blue electricity start to form around the diminutive beings antenna before blasting Vegeta's wrists. Unlike any other such occurrence, he feels no pain from the energy, in fact, he can't even sense the technique at all.

Gradually, the blue energy takes tangible form in the shape of two black, conjoined wrist weights. Upon their completion, Vegeta almost instantly buckles under their weight. Grinding his teeth together, he powers up to his regular states maximum power, enveloping himself in a blue and white aura in an attempt to keep himself from possibly crashing through the floor.

Yet it isn't enough, the momentary rush of power is not enough, not even close. The weights bring him to his knees as a massive rush of sweat explodes all over his body. The weights hover merely a few inches off the ground with the Saiyan Prince struggling viciously to keep them from touching it.

A momentary, traitorous thought crosses his mind, one wishing for him to have access to Kakarot's Kaio-Ken technique to cheat his way out of an all but certain defeat. A thought which Vegeta promptly pushes into the recesses of his mind. Knowing he's going to lose this one anyway, Vegeta transforms, opting to lose on his feet with some shred of dignity instead of admitting defeat on the ground like some weakling.

The doors to the room burst open with the equally diminutive Krillin, the three-eyed fighter Tien and their master, Olibu or some such, rushing inside, the former two entering their fighting stances.

"Back off, Vegeta!" Tien commands, his own power rising.

"It's alright, everyone!" The God states calmly, raising his hand towards the three of them. "Vegeta's not doing anything I didn't expect nor am I in any danger, you can go back outside."

"A-are you sure, King Kai...?" Krillin stammers out, eyeing Vegeta in a mix of suspicion and utter fear. This makes the Prince grin as the weights, while still heavy beyond belief, are far more manageable now.

"The Master knows what he,'s doing," The tallest of the three, Olibu, puts his hands on their shoulders and like a parent, escorts them outside. "We'll continue waiting, sir."

With the door closed once again, the same beam of light emits from the Gods antenna, causing the wrists to dissipate from Vegeta's wrists. "Impressive, don't you think?"

Vegeta powers down and rubs his wrists as he eyes the deity with suspicion. "What exactly were those made of?"

"From a metal belonging fairly young world on the fringes of the Northern Quadrant, or rather, my materialization was a very close copy to this metal. There are many more just like it out there, some thousands upon thousands of times harder than that even! Considerably heavier too!"

"And you would use these weights as substitutes for the gravity machine?"

"Not exactly," The same flash crosses his glasses as his smirk widens. "You see, when Goku left to do battle with you and Nappa on Earth, I created a special suit to protect him against you."

_For all the good it did him,_ Vegeta remembers blowing the upper part of his gi in half with the simplest of blasts that day.

"But, as I started thinking about these new materials to study and to use as a basis for weights, I came to a simple conclusion: creating weighted clothing entirely made of said materials!"

In spite of his frustrations with being made a fool of twice in one day, Vegeta reluctantly sees the potential of such clothing. Though he'll never admit it openly Kakarot and certainly not to this creature before him, the gravity machine is obsolete. These simple weights have given him far greater challenge approximating its usage than the machine has since he's arrived here.

An entire flexible suit made of such hard material making almost his entire person many times heavier? The possibilities are promising for good growth.

"Fine," The Prince says through grinding teeth. "You've made your point, I'll accept your assistance but don't expect me to act like Kakarot or the three stooges outside that door-"

"Believe me Vegeta, I made this arrangement fully aware of how you do things," The deity tells him with a matter of fact tone. "You don't need to call me Master or learn any of my techniques, we both know either will happen. All I ask is that you don't cause any trouble and grow stronger like the others, how you do that is entirely up to you."

He expected an argument, perhaps even wanted one to verbally toss the blue being around a bit. Still, for the second time, he feels somewhat glad for his presence, a feeling which may last longer if their goals continue to align. As much as he hates to admit it, Gohan's display of power worries him greatly and this may just help him keep the boy and his clown father precisely where they belong: beneath him.

* * *

**Not the best ending to a chapter I've ever done but I think what needed to be said was said. Thus, phase 1 of the story is complete! As I stated last chapter, we'll be having a sizeable time skip and moving to Earth before the Otherworld tournament takes center stage. With college starting up in a week, I don't know when or how I'll get around to writing more for you guys but rest assured, it will get done.**


	16. The Exs

"Cutting corners on these Senzu Beans, eh Yamcha?" The ex-criminal known as Launch, one version of her anyway, comments on the wonder drug in question as they're laid out on a cut off tree trunk in-between herself and her best client. Another former bandit and old friend of hers, Yamcha.

"Gimme a break, Launch," Yamcha counters from the other side of the trunk, crossing his arms over his chest. "Growing these takes times and you know it."

This small spot in the woods has served as their primary meeting point ever since the two of them ran into one another in the ruins of Bulma's hometown of West City two weeks into the so-called "New World Order". After witnessing so many of his friends and allies die this past year, seeing Launch alive the first time and even now on a semi-regular basis, still gives him a jolt of happiness that's hard to come by these days.

Even if her personality still left something to be desired.

"You might have more of them if Yajirobe's fat ass didn't eat them," She takes a shot of what Yamcha can only guess is alcohol given the flask. "Tell me you're not letting him-"

"I'm not letting him eat anymore," He replies dryly, accepting her flask. "Korin's just gotten nervous about going out to the garden these days, says he can feel things getting worse and worse out there. Don't ask me how, though."

"Probably some mystical martial arts crap you guys love so much," She playfully jibes as Yamcha takes a shot of the whiskey. "If he's so scared, maybe he should tell you how he makes these and go live in that submarine with Roshi."

The ex-bandit nearly chokes mid-gulp, punching his chest over and over in a mixture of coughing and laughing. "Oh God, don't remind me! I'm amazed he and Oolong haven't killed each other yet."

"Porn keeps perverts together I hear," She takes the flask with a small grimace on her face, no doubt from the memories of Roshi's various groping attempts. "I'm serious about Korin telling you how he grows these. If he's so scared, he should leave the job to people who got a pair."

"If Korin didn't have a pair, he'd never leave the Lookout period," He half-heartedly counters though a part of him agrees with her, having more people know the secret would prove beneficial. "Look, I'll promise I'll get more next time, okay?"

He gives her a sort of puppy dog expression which successfully calmed Bulma down during her more restrained bouts of anger or jealousy. When she was on the warpath, nothing short of putting half a continent of distance between them would work, but smaller fits? It did the job, and it did it then too. The clues were subtle, but the blonde Launche's usually stern face softened with her lips quirking up into a guilty smirk.

"Fine," She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not like they're helping with the virus anyhow."

Yamcha's small sense of victory immediately fizzles out, replaced by a cold chill running down his spine at the mention of the disease. "It's getting even worse?"

"It's probably killing more people than those brats are," She says with a hint of anger in her voice. "There was a whole group of people I used to trade with, they came from one of the nearby deserts to the East of here. When I didn't hear from them for a couple of weeks, I went to check up on them and then..."

"It got em all," Yamcha concludes with a sigh, letting an awkward silence fall on over them for a few moments. "Bulma's been trying to find a cure but with her actual lab gone..."

"There probably isn't one," She rises from the trunk, snatching the three Senzu Beans before stretching her muscles with loud, accompanying popping sounds from her joints. "If the Dragon Balls couldn't save Goku from this, then I doubt anything Bulma whips up will."

"I said the same thing funnily enough," He recalls the discussion from many, many months ago to keep the conversation from staying on the subject of Goku. "Three guesses' what happened next."

"Like I need that many," She chuckles, playing along with his own, unspoken, underlying intent. "I should get going, the others are gonna worry if I'm gone for too long."

"Not so fast," He also rises to his feet. "You still owe me my share of the trade."

With a glare matching his own whenever someone caught him trying to steal something or back out of a deal from his early days, Launch reluctantly dives into the pockets over her jeans and tossed a capsule out. With a puff of smoke, the contents reveal themselves, boxes full of food, milk and the much-vaunted diapers all accounted for.

 _So this is my life now, a delivery man for diapers?_ The bitter thought crosses Yamcha's mind and not for the first time since beginning his so-called job of scouring the planet for food and supplies.

"How do you keep finding this stuff?" He asks her while she returns the contents back into their capsule. She tosses it over to him.

"Trade secret I'm afraid," She replies with an overly dramatic shrug. "If I told you, you probably wouldn't give me the time of day anymore."

"You know that's not true, right?" He asks her with genuine concern, though, he can't exactly fault her for thinking that. For the past few years between the Saiyan attack to Namek to their current predicament, to say their group didn't bother informing her of anything would be an understatement. A slight accusatory glare she sends his way before turning around definitely proves he's on to something. "You can come live with us in the Lookout if you-"

"Nah," She unloads another Capsule, this time revealing a hover bike. "All those crying babies up there would just drive nuts, besides, I've got people down here who need me these days."

"That almost sounded noble of you," He points out with a smile, managing to get an actual laugh out of her. _Good, at least we won't end things on a bad note._

"What can I say," She turns the hoverbike on, releasing a gust of wind all around her. "You goodie two shoes have rubbed off on me."

And with that, she blasts off into the dense woods surrounding them, the hum of her vehicle slowly fading into the distance, leaving nothing but the sounds of occasionally chirping birds in the branches above. For a moment he stands there, remembering the previous, highly vicious Launch from before, the one who wouldn't think twice about robbing a little baby if it meant getting its candy for herself. Much like he wouldn't hesitate to doom others to a slow, painful fate during his many raids in the deserts.

With some reluctance, he begrudgingly admits he's come somewhat far in terms of his priorities, at least. Even if he still feels worthless in the one area where it really counts.

"Yamcha?" Chaiotzu calls him over the ear piece, no doubt still keeping watch on the surrounding area from atop one of the largest trees. "Everything all right down there?"

"More or less," He releases a motorcycle from his own capsule. He sits down on it, revving the engine for a bit. "Time to start climbing back down, buddy."

"Ugh," The child-like fighter groans, getting a smirk out of Yamcha. "This stuff was so much easier when we could just fly."

"Don't I know it," He drives into the dense woodlands though with a lot less force than Launch did and expertly avoids the myriad of trees, branches and rocks in his way. The route to the meeting place is as familiar to him as the back of his own hand at this point. In no time, he reaches the tree in question, just in time to see Chiaotzu expertly jump from branch to branch on his way to the bottom. Despite his earlier protests, the young man has also grown somewhat accustomed to this routine as well.

"I'm guessing everything's fine since you didn't call me?" Yamcha asks his partner the moment he lands in the back seat.

"On this side of the planet things are pretty calm still, but I noticed some lights off in the distance. They looked like explosions."

 _I wouldn't be too sure about the virus killing more people than the brats, Launch,_ Yamcha continues into the forest, once again feeling worthless at the thought of more people and cities falling to the duo while he's only good for finding food and clothing. He can't even train with Chiaotzu on the Lookout for fear of revealing its location and compromising everyone. Meanwhile, Goku, Gohan, Piccolo and all the rest are off in some world of dedicated fighters, learning new techniques and growing stronger, widening the already glaring gap between them further.

"I feel bad about it too," Chiaotzu states with a somber tone. "About not being able to help, I mean."

"Were you reading my mind just now?"

"Nah, you've just got that grouchy look on your face whenever we talk about this. It kind of makes you look like Tien."

The ex-bandit gives a hearty laugh at this comparison, he has no doubts Tien's spent or spending a good amount of time about the gap between himself and the extraterrestrial members of their party too. _At least he has a shot of doing something about it I guess. He and Krillin, the toughest humans all-around._

"I hope he and the others get back soon, things can't stay like this much longer."

"They have to," Yamcha jumps over a small ravine, using a rock to give them a boost. "It's been 10 months since they died, they need to be revived with the Dragon Balls soon. Hell, if we could sense the brats powers at all, they could have come back ages ago."

"Assuming they could've gotten strong enough ages ago," Chiaotzu points out, clearly not having much more luck than him concerning the estimate on the brats powers. As though they could hear them, a thunderous noise erupts off in the distance to the south. Immediately, Yamcha stops the motorcycle and lets Chiaotzu take a closer look at it with his binoculars.

"What do you see?"

"The same stuff from before, bright lights showing up then dying down after every crack, they must be hitting one of the cities again."

 _This is the closest they've gotten to the Lookout..._ Yamcha realizes with a gulp. Korin assured them special requirements would protect the Lookout from being discovered, but the fact they can't sense the duo means if these fail safes fail, they could simply blow the whole thing up with all of them in it.

"We better get back and tell others about this," Yamcha ups the speed of his vehicle, intent to get back home as quickly as possible. If the two responsible for ransacking the whole planet into this sorry state are finally coming this close in their slow burn of a rampage, it may not be safe for much longer.

* * *

**As you can see, I didn't really have much in the way of direction for this chapter besides showing characters interact though some may see this as its own reward. Especially Launch becoming involved in her small capacity.**


	17. Raising the Stakes

"Thank all for coming here on such short notice. I realize you're all deep into your respective training regiments and I assure you, I won't take up too much of your time." King Kai assures them following a small cough to clear his throat. He stands at the head of a simple, wooden table long enough for dozens of people to dine on, giving him a clear view of, almost, all of the people his news will be the most relevant to.

To his left are the two members of the Son family, Goku, and Gohan, clad in their usual attires but with a distinct difference: their golden hair. Some months ago, at Gohan's insistence, they opted to remain in their Super Saiyan states as much as possible. To eliminate the strain the form places on the body but more importantly, the emotional turmoil which can turn even a nice, polite boy like Gohan into a bloodthirsty warrior his Saiyan ancestors would approve of.

A far cry from the path his most recent... student, Prince Vegeta has decided to take, the only one not present for this meeting as he insisted on training instead. Instead of mastering the regular form, he spends his days constantly increasing his power to bigger and bigger heights. Not ineffective by any means as he's right around Goku and Gohan's level by King Kai's latest estimate, but for every gain, the Son duo make with greater ease, he has to through days of practically destroying himself.

The God suspects Vegeta himself is aware of this potential flaw and if he thought it could make a difference, King Kai would try to make Vegeta see the benefits of Gohan's method, but this is Vegeta after all so he'll take what he can get. Who knows, perhaps the Saiyan Prince holds some secret of his own for the Super Saiyan power he's keeping close to the chest?

Tien and Krillin, sitting to his right, have been diligently training as well. Olibu has spoken of their practice, though not in great detail. Apparently, the two have been tinkering the Kaio-Ken technique to lessen the strain on the body while trying to increase their strength to near Super Saiyan levels. Even as they sit here, fully relaxed, the Kai can sense a great increase in power from the two of them, but as he was from the start, he remains doubtful if they can truly reach the levels of their more alien, battle ready companions.

Piccolo, resting off to the corner with his arms and legs folded, remains the big x-factor out of all of them. Unlike the others, neither Piccolo or Slug have made an effort to keep King Kai in the loop with regards to his training. All he can sense is a great swell of powering lingering inside the relaxed Super Namekian, but what else is hiding there? The Super Namekian's of old, before their civil war destroyed the original Namekian population down to two, had many exotic abilities of Ki manipulation never seen or replicated anywhere else, was that the bulk of Piccolo's training? Refinement of energy instead of increasing raw power?

In any event, King Kai and more importantly, his superiors, would see what the fruits of their training soon enough.

"This is about the tournament, I assume?" Piccolo speaks up first. "I overheard Master Slug discuss it with some of his fellow warriors the other day, it's supposedly quite an event."

"Indeed it is," King Kai confirms with a nod. "For once every one thousand years, the Grand Kai, overseer of the four quadrant Kai's such as myself and my brothers and sister, holds a tournament where warriors residing here may participate to test themselves against one another in tests of speed, strength, and endurance. Warriors from across time and space of every size and gender fighting to attain the ultimate prize."

Everyone but Gohan and Goku leans forward just a bit with looks of barely contained anticipation in their eyes. Even the usual stoic Piccolo fails to contain his curiosity judging by the slight widening of his eyes.

"The Room of Spirit and Time!" King Kai reveals with a smirk and a flash crossing over his glasses. "A special dimension designed to give its user the harshest training imaginable."

"How hard can it be?" Krillin asks, raising his hand awkwardly into the air. "No offense to you King Kai but we've done some crazy things these past few months. Stuff I thought was gonna kill me... Uhh... Destroy me? For sure!"

"I do not say things like that lightly my boy, especially to a bunch of diligent workers like yourselves," This gets him smile from everyone in the room, even Piccolo smirks a bit. "But this place is beyond anything else in the afterlife or the living world. It is a dimension where the very laws of space, time, physics are loosened or heightened at complete random. Tell me, what's the highest level of gravity you've trained under?"

"Uhh," Goku moans, scratching his cheek. "I haven't used the machine in forever but I think it was...a hundred times Earth's gravity?"

"Not bad," King Kai nods. "Now imagine going up to five hundred or even as high as two thousand times!"

A moment of silence passes in the room as they try to comprehend such a thing with faces of expected shock.

"B-but," Krillin blurts out. "That's... That's insane!"

"Precisely the point. The Room of Spirit and Time is designed to be as dangerous and hostile as possible. It is a vast, empty dimension where it is difficult to even breath, the gravity shifts at complete random, as does the temperature. One moment you may find yourself enjoying a reasonable ten times Earth's gravity when suddenly a blazing inferno explodes all around you and you find yourself crashing into it from the gravity becomes dozens of times stronger in mere seconds.

"If you venture deeper inside, you will find more bizarre occurrences. You may find yourself caught in a thick mist where if you let so much as an ounce of Ki leak out of your body, you will be unable to move at all. In fact, if what Pikkon once told me is true, bizarre creatures, capable of sensing your fear and adapting to your power reside in the furthest corners of this dimension, an ultimate, final test of your strength."

"This is why you've let us train for so long without using it," Tien concludes as a few visible drops of sweat roll across his face. "If we tried going in there when we just arrived-"

"You would have all died, Earthling or Super Namekian or Super Saiyan, it would have made no difference, you'd have all died sooner or later. Certainly well before a full-year could pass."

"A-A year?" Gohan gasps out, taken completely aback by the prospect of spending another year while the Earth and everyone on it, his family and friends most of all, are in constant threat of dying. "B-But King Kai! We can't stay in there for a year! Everyone we know could be dead by then-"

"Calm yourself Gohan," The God tells him with a soothing voice and smile. "The Room of Spirit and Time operates under different rules than the rest of existence, a single day out here is the equivalent of an entire year out there."

This gets its desired effect with Gohan letting out a relieved sigh and even chuckling a bit for losing his cool so quickly. "Sorry, King Kai."

"It's no trouble my boy, I understand perfectly."

"So," Piccolo speaks up again, taking his away off Gohan and back to King Kai. "If we want to get entry into this Room of Spirit and Time, we're supposed to win the tournament?"

"If you want one day, sure. Whom so ever wins the champion title for this turn around is allowed to enter the Room with any one person of his or her choosing or go in alone. But if they wish to enter for another day, or simply pass this opportunity on to someone else, they must defeat the champion of the last tournament."

"Thus bringing us to our next obstacle, Pikkon."

"Indeed," King Kai admits to the Namekian and the others. "Pikkon is a formidable warrior, and even with all you've done to grow stronger, defeating him will be no easy task. He has spent the better part of millennia without a proper challenge, and he will not hesitate to hold back or go easy on you should anyone of you here face him. He will push you all to your limits and beyond, for a warrior deprived of the true thrill of battle such as him... Let's just say, he's got some steam to blow off."

"We'll beat him," Gohan proclaims confidently. "We've got too much riding on us not to do it."

"Indeed we will," Piccolo agrees to the boy's statement with a smirk. "I've no intention of passing up a chance for testing myself in this Room of Spirit and Time. Champion or not, Pikkon is in for the fight of his life this time."

"You'll have to beat me and Krillin first, Piccolo," Tien challenges from across the room good-naturedly. "We've got a few tricks up our sleeves that're gonna throw you for a loop."

"He does have a point, Piccolo," Goku speaks with excitement oozing from his voice. "I've been noticing some pretty crazy power spikes from these two lately. They're gonna be a pair to watch out for."

"Well, I don't know about that..." Krillin chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. "You Super Saiyan's and Super Namekian's are a tough bunch to keep up with."

"Don't sell yourself short, Krillin, uhh..." He trails off, noticing his play on words and the glare from his best friend. "I mean, I'm sure you guys are gonna do great. Besides, you can't tell me you aren't even a little excited about the idea of having a rematch with me, are you?"

"There's at least four people we know out for a rematch with you, Goku," Piccolo comments from behind the Super Saiyan. "Give it some more time, and I'm sure we could hold a special tournament just for the chance of fighting you."

"Now there's an idea," Goku rubs his chin before they all erupt into a fit of laughing together. As he watches them, King Kai can't help but smile at finding them all in such high spirits. It makes what he has to say to them next all the more difficult, but if it helps them to train harder in the remaining time they have left to the tournament, it will have to be done.

"I have something else to tell you," In contrast to before, a sternness enters the God's voice. A tone he reserves for only the most serious of situations. "As you all know, there is another reason for you training here besides merely helping you save the Earth. The threat of Babidi and his ultimate creation, Majin Boo."

"You've got news for us?" Gohan inquires.

"Yes and you're not going to like it, not one bit," He warns them and sighs before explaining further. "My superior, the Supreme Kai and his attendant, Kibito, have spent the past few months tracking down Babidi and his minions across space. As I said when you first arrived here, their agents took notice of a powerful warrior, a Super Saiyan capable of giving enough energy to revive the monstrous Majin Boo. But until recently, they've made little progress in finding the man behind this scheme. Forcing them to do something... Questionable..."

"Which is?" This time, it is Piccolo to ask, his previous smirk vanishing as his instincts visibly tell him something is very wrong.

Following a gulp and another sigh, with a heavy heart, King Kai tells them. "They're going let information about to Earth to leak out..."

"What?!" All of the present fighters spring to their feet with Gohan being the first, most mortified by this news and Goku the most relaxed out of the whole group.

"Yes... They've decided that with your training nearing completion, and following my... Confident reports on your progress, well for most of you, that the best course of action is to leak the location of the Earth once you've more or less become as strong as you can be after your time here."

"How can they do this?" Krillin asks in a mix of shock and fear. "Don't they realize these kids rampaging across the planet could be strong enough to revive Majin Boo?"

"They're going to put our home at risk, King Kai," Gohan says in much the same tone as the bald, Turtle School student on the opposite seat from him. "Are they really so desperate to find this Babidi?"

"I do not condone this condition, if it were up to me, I'd simply let Babidi and whatever group he's aligned with to rot in the darkest corners of the universe until his magic can no longer sustain him," He tells them honestly, always one to prefer caution instead of confrontation. "But you must understand, the Supreme Kai is the only survivor of the original Majin Boo rampages. He witnessed the deaths of his closest family at the hands of this beast and has hunted his remains, and his master, for millennia. He sees an opportunity to draw him out, and he will not pass it by."

"That doesn't excuse putting our planet at risk," Tien answers coldly, crossing his arms. "The fact he'll do it no matter what without our say even..."

"The threat of Majin Boo is great, yes, but it is not guaranteed," King Kai states matter of factly to try and deflate the situation. "Babidi stills needs the energy of a strong, evil being to release the creature. Once you all arrive on Earth and Babidi comes to collect, you will all be more than powerful enough to defeat him and whatever minions he has. The odds of Majin Boo actually reviving are quite slim, and become slimmer with every increase in strength you gain."

"It'll be alright guys," Goku puts a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "We've been in some tough spots before and we've pulled through. This time'll be no different. Plus, I'll be going back to Earth with you for extra insurance."

All save King Kai and Gohan give him puzzled looks. The God decides to explain for him. "Thanks to the efforts of one Uranai Baba and King Yemma, Goku has one day with which he can temporarily return to the world of the living and fight there should the need arise. Given the importance of this mission, I thought it best to have you all there on the ground for extra insurance."

This does seem to make the others visibly relax somewhat. Just by looking at them, their practically stiff and battle ready bodies all relax and settle down. Though, even with this, King Kai takes notice of the worried frowns and scowls of Piccolo and Tien.

"I mean..." Krillin awkwardly begins, drawing all eyes in the room on to himself. "Goku's gonna be there... And we're all a lot more powerful than ever, plus with this Room of Spirit and Time..."

"Even with all of that, we can't relax," Piccolo tells them like a drill sergeant to his troops. "Though I suspect we won't make many more strength gains in the next two weeks until the tournament, growing lax will only leave more room for things to spiral out of control when the moment of truth comes. I suggest we all return to our business and do whatever it takes to get stronger."

"My thoughts exactly," Tien nods at the Namekian. "Come on Krillin, we've got a lot of work to do."

Without another word, Tien flies out of a nearby window with a dumbfounded Krillin left in his wake. The bald monk gives the others an awkward smile, and an awkward farewell bow to King Kai before powering up as well. "See ya later guys!"

"We should get moving too, dad," Gohan tells his father with a look of sheer determination. "I don't know if it'll make much of a difference, but we've got to win this tournament and get into that Room, whatever it takes."

"You should listen to him, Goku," Piccolo says with a proud smile. "The boy knows what he's talking about." After receiving a smile from the two Super Saiyan's, Piccolo also flies out of the room, no doubt back to his own master and sparring partner. Following a farewell wave and bow, the Son duo vanish back to their training area as well. Leaving King Kai alone as he tries mentally hopes for their success.

For if his superior, the Supreme Kai is willing to put even a single planet at risk just for the sake of his mission, he worries what else might he do before this whole ordeal is over and done with.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, we had a big lore change happen here but one I had planned from the beginning. The tournament lacked a real purpose initially besides just letting characters we know, along with ones we may not, fight in some cool locales just for the sake of it. But by making the ROSAT or Hyperbolic Timechamber a prize, along with the looming threat of Majin Boo, I think the change justifies itself.
> 
> And don't were, Cell will factor into things yet, I won't just skip him over ;)


End file.
